How Connecticut Is Using 3RNET to Strengthen Health Center Recruitment

Chris Mulhall joined the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut (CHC/ACT) as the Senior Program Manager, Workforce Development just over a year ago. He is responsible for supporting Connecticut’s 17 health centers which serve over 452,000 patients each year.  Chris also serves as 3RNET’s Connecticut Network Coordinator.

CHC/ACT is exploring ways to streamline recruitment and make connecting with mission-minded health professionals easier for its members. Chris has played an important part in getting 3RNET’s technology behind these goals. 

Chris has been a quick study of 3RNET’s recruiting for retention best practices. He’s found them to be helpful in communicating to health centers 3RNET’s core foundations, including how to market not just to any job seeker, but to the right candidate. 

Like many safety net facilities across the country, health centers in Connecticut need to be clear and creative in how they communicate themselves and their job opportunities. Any recruiter can tell you this is necessary, but sometimes time-consuming work.

Chris saw an opportunity to meet the health centers where they’re at.

“I try to be very aware of how many hats many of our staff and leaders wear, and think about that when we're making changes. Something needs to be user friendly: less work, not more. And so just trying to stay grounded in that when we make those decisions is important to me,” Chris said.

Some health centers are unable to pay what larger health systems can.

CHC/ACT leadership have been supportive of creative changes toward better recruitment for Connecticut’s community health centers that Chris has worked to implement.

“I am fortunate to work at a place where I'm supported to take those risks, think outside the box. My leadership sets clear and high expectations, but they also allow all staff to kind of work to the best of their abilities and think differently about things,” Chris said.

Chris’s first idea? Implement 3RNET’s “embed” feature on CHC/ACT’s website. Chris attended 3RNET’s Annual Conference last fall in Reno, Nevada. There, he saw a demonstration of 3RNET’s embeddable technology. 

“I knew that while some people were posting on 3RNET, not everyone was. And, we have our CHC/ACT job board, plus, people would post jobs on their own organization’s websites. So, the thought was, I want to increase use of the 3RNET platform, and using the embed was a way to increase use of 3RNET without creating an additional step. Once we did this, it would get their job postings in two places instead of one,” Chris said.

This is a recent change for health centers in Connecticut, so Chris has been patient with measuring results. He understands that any change to a process like this may take time and support, which he’s happy to offer. 
He hopes to turn this success into leveraging more of 3RNET’s technology to better support health centers across his state.

“I want to get to a point where we are using to the furthest extent possible, the all the tools that 3RNET has. And I think like at first glance, you might think of 3RNET as for like, mostly clinicians. But how can we more engage those pre-professional or undergrad students that don't necessarily have a career path yet?” Chris said.

“Our work is relationships, relationships, and more relationships. I'm still working on this. I want to get to where: instead of academic institutions doing one thing and health centers doing another, how are we connecting? That way, when it's time to get a job, people know what opportunities there are. We want to connect early and often, so that students are exposed to that environment and their leaders are as well,” Chris said.

“3RNET is the only platform that I'm aware of that specializes in and focuses on rural and underserved recruitment and gives one-on-one support that I have not seen available without significant extra fees,” Chris said.

Workforce challenges require collaboration and innovative tools. 3RNET Network Coordinators work hard to support both. 

As CHC/ACT continues refining its approach, their experience offers a powerful example of how thoughtful changes—paired with the right tools—can strengthen recruitment efforts. By meeting health centers where they are, reducing barriers, and expanding visibility for mission-driven opportunities, Chris and his colleagues are helping ensure that Connecticut’s community health centers remain connected to the health professionals who want to serve.

For Chris, the work is ultimately about building a stronger pipeline—one that starts earlier, reaches wider, and keeps relationships at the center.

When organizations leverage 3RNET not just as a job board, but as part of a broader strategy to connect students, professionals, and communities, recruitment becomes more than filling positions. It becomes a long-term investment in the workforce that rural and underserved communities depend on.

And as Connecticut’s health centers continue building those connections, the impact will extend far beyond recruitment. This work can help ensure that hundreds of thousands of patients across the state can access the care they need, from providers who are committed to serving where they’re needed most.