Iroquois Awarded $1.4 Million for Health Workforce Affected by Commission

CLIFTON PARK, NY (11/06/2007)(readMedia)-- The New York State Department of Health announced that the Iroquois Healthcare Association (IHA) would receive $1.4 million to conduct projects assisting health care workers affected by consolidations, closures, conversion or restructuring of institutions resulting from the recommendations of the Commission of Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, commonly known as the Berger Commission.

IHA has partnered with the Hudson Mohawk Area Health Education Center (HM AHEC) for the “Health Jobs NY” project. The funds have been awarded to provide job counseling, placement and short-term training for health care workers in the 16-county Northern Region of New York as defined by the Berger Commission’s regional divisions.

The Berger Commission issued a report last December recommending major policy changes and closings or consolidations of 57 acute-care hospitals and reduction of about 3,000 nursing-home beds in long term care facilities. Eight hospitals and nursing homes are directly affected in the Northern Region, impacting approximately 3,000 individual employees.

IHA and HM AHEC proposed modification of an infrastructure currently in place, as developed through previous IHA workforce projects to serve as the basis for meeting the job bank resources, counseling, training and other health workforce needs. The relationships developed with various State agencies, other AHECs, workforce investment boards, and educational providers will serve to enhance the development and implementation of the project.

“We are very pleased with this award, and we believe it will assist our organization in continuing to meet the critical health care workforce development needs in Upstate New York,” said Gary J. Fitzgerald, President of IHA. “Building upon the success of our workforce initiatives, which have enrolled more than 6,000 current and potential health care workers since 1996 in training programs, these additional funds will allow us to assist individuals who are impacted by the Berger Commission and connect them with employers desperately seeking well-trained staff.” Lottie Jameson, Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk AHEC added, “In pursuing our mission to nurture and strengthen the health care workforce, we are pleased to be working with IHA to provide a seamless transition for health care workers affected in our communities. For nearly a decade we have been working with schools, colleges, job seekers and employers to promote the spectrum of health care careers available in our communities.”

To date, IHA has been awarded more than $20 million to administer projects to recruit, train, and retain health care workers in New York.

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Notes: The Iroquois Healthcare Association is a not-for-profit regional trade association representing 56 hospitals and health systems in 31 upstate counties of New York. The Upstate Health Workforce Center provides services and information to health care facilities and individuals regarding health care workforce issues and careers.

The Hudson-Mohawk Area Health Education Center is a not-for-profit organization that works to improve access to quality health care in medically underserved areas through educational activities designed to recruit, train and retain health care personnel in communities where they are needed most. Hudson-Mohawk AHEC serves a ten county region and is part of the statewide AHEC system working to develop the health care workforce.