Iroquois Healthcare>IHA Workforce Investment Organization (WIO)

IHA WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ORGANIZATION (WIO)

Program Overview

The IHA Workforce Investment Organization (WIO) was a statewide workforce development initiative led by the Iroquois Healthcare Association (IHA) to address critical workforce shortages in New York State’s long‑term care sector. Designated by the New York State Department of Health as the state’s only statewide Workforce Investment Organization, the program supported training, recruitment, and retention efforts for long‑term care providers across New York State.

The program operated from 2018 through 2023, with Department of Health funding supporting implementation and expansion through March 2022, followed by program close‑out activities, sustained recruitment efforts, and transition to successor workforce initiatives. During this period, IHA WIO served as a critical resource for providers navigating increasing workforce demand and the operational challenges of the COVID‑19 pandemic.

 

Core Program Components

The IHA WIO delivered an integrated set of workforce supports designed to strengthen the long‑term care labor pipeline:

  • Provider Training Program: IHA WIO developed and delivered a comprehensive online training curriculum through an exclusive partnership with HealthStream. Thousands of courses were offered to long‑term care workers statewide, with content focused on regulatory compliance, infection control, value‑based payment outcomes, customer service, behavioral health, leadership, management, and emergency preparedness.
  • Technology Enablement: To reduce barriers to participation and support the transition to virtual learning, IHA WIO distributed more than 4,400 Google Chromebooks to frontline workers, enabling equitable access to training regardless of personal technology resources.
  • Caring Gene® Recruitment Campaign: IHA WIO created and implemented Caring Gene®, a statewide, award‑winning recruitment campaign designed to attract individuals with an innate desire to care. The campaign used data‑driven digital marketing, multimedia advertising, and a centralized website to connect job seekers with long‑term care employers and training opportunities across the state.
  • Pilot Programs and Strategic Partnerships: The program launched multiple pilot initiatives to support workforce growth and retention, including CNA certification support, peer‑to‑peer mentoring in home care, an upstate hospital virtual career fair series powered through Brazen, Chromebook repurposing, and educational partnerships with organizations such as the Foundation for Quality Care. These pilots were used to test scalable strategies to strengthen the caregiving workforce.

 

Program Goals

The IHA WIO was designed to:

  • Expand access to high‑quality, no‑cost training for long‑term care workers
  • Improve recruitment and retention across the long‑term care continuum
  • Build clear and attainable career pathways for caregivers
  • Support regulatory compliance and quality outcomes for providers
  • Reduce barriers to workforce participation through technology access
  • Strengthen New York State’s long‑term care workforce pipeline

 

Program Impact

Over the course of its operation, the IHA WIO achieved significant statewide impact:

  • Nearly 18,000 long‑term care workers participated in WIO‑supported training programs
  • More than 4,400 Google Chromebooks were distributed to support access to online education
  • Over 200 long‑term care providers across New York State participated in training and recruitment initiatives
  • The Caring Gene® recruitment campaign generated more than 900,000 website visits, tens of thousands of job searches, and substantial traffic to provider career sites
  • Training evaluations showed consistently high satisfaction, with the majority of participants reporting improved knowledge retention and applicability to their roles
  • Program outcomes and infrastructure informed future workforce efforts, including the development of the Caring Gene® Academy and alignment with New York State’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver workforce initiatives

Through these efforts, the IHA Workforce Investment Organization played a central role in strengthening New York State’s long‑term care workforce during a multi‑year period of heightened workforce demand and system‑wide transformation.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Resources

Additional materials related to the initiative include: