IHA’s WIO ready to implement the Caring Gene Healthcare Career Pathways Training Program in January
As we announced in our Fall 2024 newsletter, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has selected IHA as the Region 2 Workforce Investment Organization (WIO) under the new 1115 NYHER Waiver and will operate as the Caring Gene Healthcare Career Pathways Training Program.
The program will pay for 100 percent of tuition costs, books, fees, supplies, and licensing exam fees and will provide educational case management designed to help students successfully complete their academic programs. Once students finish their education, they will complete a three-year service commitment with a healthcare employer, serving a 30% or more Medicaid/uninsured population. Caring Gene Healthcare Career Pathways, Inc. will assist with job placement services.
We are currently working with educational institutions that have programs available to start in January 2025 to begin enrolling students. We have met with numerous other stakeholders, including providers across the continuum, statewide associations of providers, the social care networks operating within our region, economic development authorities, and other community organizations. Caring Gene Healthcare Career Pathways Training Program is led by Tosha Grimmer, Executive Director. We are ready to sign up interested students NOW, particularly those already working in healthcare. Our program website is being developed and expected to go live in early January.
If you want to learn more, please contact Tosha Grimmer at [email protected] or visit: https://ihawio.org/caring-gene-career-pathways-training-program/.
Full list of eligible training titles:
Licensed Practical Nurse, Associate Registered Nurse, Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Master of Social Work, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor, Certified Pharmacy Technician, Certified Medical Assistant, Respiratory Therapist, Community Health Worker, and Patient Care Manager / Coordinator.
IHA Healthcare Educational Pipeline Consortium
IHA has been awarded funding by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to facilitate a Healthcare Educational Pipeline Consortium program. The program is being funded at $275,000 for 2025. The funding will support the existing Oswego Early College in the High School Program, as well as establish two pilot programs.
This program works to build the pipeline of healthcare providers in upstate New York by introducing local students to the industry as early as possible.
IHA will help facilitate the development of these pilots by connecting hospitals, high schools and community colleges to create programs modeled after the highly successful Early College in the High School program currently run by Oswego Health in partnership with Fulton City Schools and Cayuga Community College. Through this program high school students will earn college credits at no cost, while completing a variety of shadowing and internship experiences in their local hospital. By the time students graduate, they are already well on their way to a successful career in healthcare and have an existing relationship with an IHA member hospital.
IHA will begin identification of potential pilots in January to determine where the two pilot locations will be, and student learning will begin in September 2025. Because the college credits are funded through the Smart Scholars program, hospital partners must have a school with Smart Scholars program funding within a reasonable distance.
Collaborative Models of Community Medicine and Paramedicine
The Home Care Association of New York State (HCANYS) has been funded for $1.7 million for a community paramedicine program in 2024 for a fourth year by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. IHA is a partner with HCA on this grant and that supports 7 pilot programs throughout Upstate New York.
The Community Paramedicine program expands the role of paramedics and EMTs with the intention of increasing access to care in rural areas where it can be difficult to get to a healthcare provider. The program utilizes EMTs and paramedics, in conjunction with home health care agencies, to provide primary and preventative care services to vulnerable populations that have difficulty accessing care in traditional settings. Pilot programs have been established in rural locations across UNY to design models, develop protocols for, and operate community centric programs. Administering preventative care lowers the likelihood that emergency teams will be called to non-urgent situations, protects emergency care resources and decrease emergency room visits and hospital admissions/re-admissions.
The grant program is run on a county basis and started in 2022 with three pilot programs: Broome County (United Health Services and Lourdes Hospital), Columbia /Greene (Columbia Memorial Hospital) and Jefferson (Samaritan Hospital). In 2023, two additional pilots were added: St. Lawrence (Canton Potsdam) and Tompkins (Cayuga Medical Center). Funding in 2024 added 2 more pilots: Herkimer (Mohawk Valley Health System) and Warren/Washington (Glens Falls Hospital).
If you would like to learn more about this program, please visit the Community Paramedicine page on our website.