Mental Health Provider at Hospital Wins Top Workplace Award
Posted on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024
Jessica Pfau, CEO, Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Centers
December 18, 2024: The high honor of being named top workplace among large companies in Oklahoma in 2024 went to the area mental health organization that serves Love and eight other Southern Oklahoma counties.
Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Centers was recognized by The Oklahoman newspaper, which partnered with the employee survey firm Energage to identify the highest-quality workplaces.
In addition, Lighthouse CEO Jessica Pfau received the Leadership Award for large companies. Both the company and Pfau were featured in a special section of the Oklahoman on December 11 and on December 15.
Rankings in the survey of companies were based on employee feedback about such things as pay and benefits, direction, leadership, meaningfulness, and appreciation.
“This recognition is a result of us all working to make Lighthouse a special place. In the “Top Workplaces” survey sent to us the feedback from Lighthouse staff was clear: it’s our mission, pay, benefits, career development and, most importantly, the way we support each other every day that makes Lighthouse a wonderful place to work,” Pfau said.
One survey respondent wrote about the company, “I feel valued, and actions are taken to shown how much Lighthouse appreciated their employees. They go above and beyond any place I have ever worked to care for their employees.”
Pfau, the newspaper wrote, received standout scores for instilling confidence in employees. In one survey response, she was described as inspirational, genuine, and positive.
Based in Ardmore, Lighthouse has 381 employees and operates 12 offices in southern Oklahoma. Formerly known as Mental Health Services of Southern Oklahoma, the non-profit provides outpatient counseling, care coordination, addiction treatment and 24/7 crisis support.
Pfau, an attorney, was named CEO in 2016 when the agency “needed a leader who could turn the company around,” the newspaper said.
She implemented a salary and benefit program to attract job candidates and raised salaries high enough that other organizations had to do the same to compete.
In 2020, Lighthouse received a $2 million federal grant to expand services. Employment grew since then from 120 to almost 400 therapists, counselors, and support staff. The company gained federal accreditation as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center.
CCBHCs serve anyone who walks through the door, regardless of the person’s diagnosis and insurance status. They receive an enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rate based on their anticipated costs of expanding services to meet the needs of vulnerable populations. They integrate behavioral health care with physical health care.
Lighthouse opened two new facilities in 2024. The latest, in November, is a family-child crisis center in Durant, in cooperation with the Choctaw Nation. In September, the agency completed the renovation of the Quentin Little building in Ardmore for use as a clinic.
For the past 10 years, Mercy Health Love County Hospital has provided Lighthouse with a rent-free counseling office. The office is in the hospital’s Social Services Building at 235 Wanda St.
Currently, the building is undergoing repairs from the large tornado that hit Marietta on April 27.
Lighthouse beat out other companies to rank #1 among large employers in the state of Oklahoma.
Finishing behind Lighthouse in the survey were First United Bank, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Ben E. Keith Company, Webco Industries, CAP Tulsa, Express Employment International, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, T-Mobile, Great Plains Bank, CACI, FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Panda Restaurant Group, Tinker Federal Credit Union, Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Company, Cox, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Dale Rogers Training Center, Tulsa Health Department, Santa Fe South Schools, Oklahoma Tax Commission, and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.