Volume 3, Issue 5 | May 2021
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Urgent: Pass Bill Repealing Arbitrary LHCSA RFO Excluding Providers

HCA thanks Senator Rachel May and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried for advancing priority legislation (S.6640/A.7304) to protect New York's home care system.

Their bill would specifically repeal a Request for Offers (RFO) process initiated by the state Department of Health (DOH) to unilaterally and arbitrarily “pick and choose” the Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs) that may continue to operate in New York State and serve the home care needs of your constituents. It is among the top priorities outlined in our post-budget legislative recommendations.

VACCINATION
The In-Home Vaccination Effort, Plus Resources to Help Constituents
 
HCA’s Home Care #VaccinateNY profiles have been featuring providers delivering COVID-19 vaccinations to homebound New Yorkers throughout the state.
 
Our newest feature is Sullivan County Public Health Services and its home care division. Sullivan County is using a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, focusing on communities with lower vaccination rates, and then sending a nurse and EMT to homebound persons in that zip code.
 
See all six of our vaccine profiles here


Photo above courtesy of Sullivan County Public Health Services: Helen Klinger, left, chats with RN Sue Flynn before receiving her COVID-19 vaccine at her Woodbourne home.
AWARDS
Honoring Excellence in Home Care & Hospice Service and Leadership

A Capital Region aide, Wanda Nycklass, was first at her organization to care for patients with COVID-19, setting an example.

A Rochester nurse, Cynthia Stanley, helped save lives in the pandemic by drawing on her expertise as an infection-control specialist.

A Bronx physician, Dr. Amy Ehrlich, is a model of commitment to home care patients and agency partners.

These are just a few of the eight individuals and programs who received HCA's highest honors in an award ceremony at our Annual Conference earlier this month.


Photo above courtesy of Eddy SeniorCare: HCA Caring Award recipient Wanda Nycklass.
WORKFORCE
News 8 Rochester Examines Aide Shortages and HCA’s ‘Home Care First’ Solution
 
WROC-TV Channel 8 recently examined New York’s home care workforce shortage, along with solutions advanced by HCA to address this chronic area of concern exacerbated by the pandemic.
 
The report tells of Gerald Sullivan Junior of Brockport who has had three major strokes since he was 19. His right side is mostly paralyzed. Two years ago, he had a serious fall.
 
Reporter Christian Garzone explains some of the reasons for New York’s workforce shortages affecting individuals like Sullivan — especially in the pandemic — including constraints on aide training programs.
 
In addition to more flexibility for virtual-hybrid models of aide training, HCA is calling for a ‘Home Care First’ agenda to better support workforce recruitment and retention, systemic investments, and program incentives to make home care a primary option.
 
“The newly passed state budget contains $1.6 billion in federal aid for home and community-based services, and the President is proposing new levels of investment in these services," said HCA President Al Cardillo in the report. "The time is now to channel these investments accordingly to support this home health system.”
ARCHIVES

See past editions of the HCA Capitol Report.
Got questions? Contact HCA's Communications Director Roger Noyes at rnoyes@hcanys.org or (518) 810-0665.