Tompkins County Long Term Care Workforce Initiative Lisa Holmes Tompkins County Office for the Aging (607) Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New York Promising Practices in the Care of Elders May 4, 2010

Key Issues in Tompkins County No central organization in Tompkins County provided aide certification training; Many home care agencies transported candidates out-of- county for certification training; Lack of regular training = missed opportunities with potential workers; Residential care facilities cited staff retention as their main concern.

Tompkins Long Term Care Workforce Initiative Through Community Health Foundation of Western & Central NY “Fellows Action Network” Goals: Increase the ranks of long-term care workforce in Tompkins County Equip organizations and facilities with tools to improve the retention rates of direct care staff

Community Collaboration All-Metro Home Care Beechtree Care Center Brookdale Senior Living Caregivers Cayuga Medical Center Cayuga Ridge Nursing Facility (formerly Lakeside) Central New York Area Health Education Center Classen Home Health Associates Community Foundation Women’s Fund Community Health Foundation of WCNY Comfort Keepers Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging Family & Children’s Service Home Care Finger Lakes Independence Center Health Planning Council of Tompkins County Hospicare and Palliative Care Services Ithaca College Gerontology Institute Ithaca Housing Authority Titus Towers Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency Kendal at Ithaca Lifelong Longview Oak Hill Manor Redmoon Caregivers Seneca Lake Terrace Stafkings Tompkins Community Action Tompkins-Cortland Community College Tompkins County DSS Long Term Care Services Tompkins County Health Department Tompkins County Office for the Aging Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES Visiting Nurse Service Women’s Opportunity Center Registry Program Workforce NY

Collaboration with Tompkins Workforce NY CHF Grant project assistant placed at Tompkins Workforce NY Assisted with recruiting and enrolling students into the aide trainings; Served as a liaison between Workforce and long term care providers, as well as organizations such as CNYAHEC; Educated Workforce staff on direct care positions.

Training: SUNY Consortium Grant A consortium made up of Workforce, Stafkings, Redmoon, Comfort Keepers, Bridges Cornell Heights, BOCES and Cayuga Ridge Extended Care applied for SUNY training funds A grant of $50,000 was awarded in July 2009 Each agency agreed to cover 20% of the cost of the training for each potential student; 80% covered by SUNY grant

Training Locations and Dates HHA training : Location: Comfort Keepers October 26 – November 11, 2009 January 4 – 20, 2010 March , 2010 May 17 – June 2, 2010 CNA training: Location: Cayuga Ridge Extended Care October 12- November 13, 2009 January 4 – February 6, 2010 March 8 – April 10, 2010 May 10 – June 12, 2010

Retention Cornell’s Retention Specialist Program Utilizes existing staff from organizations trained and designated as retention specialist; Intensive training involves a range of proven intervention strategies (peer mentoring, career ladders, communication training, recognition, supervision) Ongoing technical assistance provided through webinars Evidence-based: effective at reducing turnover Local expertise

Retention CITRA Retention Specialist Program Home health agency pilot participants: CareGivers Comfort Keepers Hospicare Redmoon Tompkins County Health Department Visiting Nurse Service/Community Health & Home Care

Retention CITRA Retention Specialist Program Residential Care Facility participants: Beechtree Care Center Bridges Cornell Heights Brookdale Senior Living Cayuga Ridge Extended Care Groton Nursing Facility Hospicare Kendal at Ithaca Longview

Recruitment Efforts Career fairs Central New York Area Health Education Center, All area high school career counseling offices Tompkins Workforce New York Finger Lakes Independence Center Challenge Industries Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES Women’s Opportunity Center Tompkins County Department of Social Services Ithaca College Cornell University Tompkins-Cortland Community College Health Planning Council of Tompkins County Updated and distributed booklet on home health careers at following venues:

Tompkins County Long Term Care Workforce Initiative For more information contact: Lisa Holmes, Director Tompkins County Office for the Aging (607)