Member News

Rochester Regional Health Home Care, UR Medicine Home Care, AVS Consulting Strategies, EE Pathways and Wellness Associates of Greater Rochester among collaborating partners

Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS) and HCR Home Care are partnering with home health agencies and community-based organizations to develop and manage a program to recruit and train community home health aides (HHAs).

Funded through grants from the city of Rochester and ESL Charitable Foundation, the program’s goal is to recruit, certify and train 660 HHAs over the next three years, with an emphasis on recruiting candidates from eleven ZIP Codes in the city of Rochester: 14604, 14605, 14607, 14608, 14609, 14611, 14612, 14613, 14619, 14620 and 14621.

HHAs provide care to people after a hospital stay or to people needing help managing an illness. Tasks include helping people with daily activities like getting dressed, bathing and eating; checking vital signs; and reminding people to take medications. The position can be the beginning of a healthcare career and can lead to other positions such as a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse.

FLPPS and HCR are collaborating on this program with employers Rochester Regional Health Home Care and UR Medicine Home Care, as well as the following community organizations:

• AVS Consulting Strategies will provide pre-employment training.
• EE Pathways (formerly known as Exercise Express) will assist with candidate recruitment and provide exercise classes and peer mentoring to help new employees become comfortable with their job responsibilities and with the workplace culture.
• Wellness Associates of Greater Rochester will provide mental health first-aid training.

Carol Tegas, FLPPS Executive Director, said, “Our community faces a dire need for healthcare workers, especially home health aides. We greatly appreciate that Mayor Malik Evans, the city administration and ESL recognized this need and put valuable resources behind this critical program. We look forward to working with employers, recruiters and community partners to meet the program goals.”

HCR Home Care President Suzanne Turchetti said, “Home health agencies are coming together in an unprecedented way to meet the need for community home health aides. HCR is excited to work with FLPPS, our employer colleagues and community organizations to build a pipeline of HHA candidates for all three home health agencies, with the goal of providing quality in-home care for people in our community.”

“Providing city residents with training for jobs in the home health aide field just makes sense,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “As the healthcare sector continues to grow, I want to thank FLPPS, HCR and all of the partners for coming together to create solutions that benefit both the city and their clients. They recognize that there’s a need for jobs that will lead to careers and a need for bright, caring individuals who want to learn, grow and create a better future for themselves and their families. This program can accomplish those goals and we are proud to support it.”

Rochester Regional Health Home Care VP Susan Bourne said, “Rochester Regional Health Home Care is thrilled to partner in this effort to recruit, train and grow our community’s home health aide population. Our new alliance creates valuable training and job opportunities for community members to build successful careers in the ever-growing health care industry. By preparing the next generation of caregivers, we also help fulfill Rochester Regional Health’s commitment to provide the highest quality and most affordable care, delivered with kindness, integrity and respect.”

UR Medicine Home Care CEO Michelle Dahlkemper said, “Home health aides play a critical role in our healthcare ecosystem. They are frontline care providers, and we rely on them to assist with basic daily living tasks as well as additional ‘eyes and ears’ in the home. Their observations and feedback loop play an essential role in caring for the patient. Home health aides are such an essential component of our workforce. UR Medicine Home Care is thrilled to be part of an initiative that is innovative, collaborative, and will ultimately bring compassionate and talented new healthcare workers into rewarding careers that include education and personal development.”

Karen Rogers, EE Pathways founder and CEO, said, “EE Pathways is very excited to assist in the recruitment of compassionate and hardworking community members interested in the healthcare field specifically to become a home health aide and allowing this to be a pathway into the healthcare industry.”

HCR and Rochester Regional Health Home Care currently have open HHA positions, and UR Medicine Home Care will be recruiting candidates this summer. Interested candidates can apply on their websites: https://www.hcrhealth.com/careers; https://careers.rochesterregional.org/; or https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/home-care/careers.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or a GED. As part of the hiring process, applicants will go through a background check and attend a career readiness workshop to learn more about the role. Once hired, HHAs will need to complete 75 hours of training and pass a test to become certified in New York state. HHAs will be paid during the training. All HHA training will be provided by HCR at its corporate offices in Brighton.

Successful candidates who are hired and complete the required training will receive a $1,000 bonus, which will be paid in increments after completing the training, passing the certification test and remaining employed for six months.

About FLPPS

FLPPS (flpps.org) is a network of hundreds of clinical and community-based provider organizations working together in a 13-county region to transform the system of healthcare delivery by bridging the gap between community and healthcare.

About HCR Home Care

Founded in 1978, HCR Home Care (hcrhealth.com) is a leading provider of home health services to individuals, physicians and other healthcare professionals across New York state. HCR is approved for Medicare, Medicaid and most commercial insurance plans. Recognized as a top workplace six years in a row and as a top-ranked woman-owned business, the company is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y. and operates in 25 counties across the Catskill, Central New York, Finger Lakes and North Country regions.