The Iroquois Healthcare Association (IHA) will utilize components of its Health Care: Get Into It© multimedia ad campaign in collaboration with local one-stops and community organizations to recruit WIA eligible out-of-school young adults, ages 18-24, and adults, ages 25-54, with limited English proficiency for enrollment in IHA’s Health Careers NextTrac Program© (NextTrac©).  Using a skills-based strategy to address the grant’s core performance and outcome measures, NextTrac© is designed to assess, remediate, and educate individuals in health care career programs to ultimately secure health care employment opportunities.
 
Target Groups
The IHA proposal will serve seventy (70) out-of-school young adults, ages 18-24, and fifty (50) adults, ages 25-54.  The young adult participants will be part of the out-of-school and/or limited English proficiency target groups.  The adults will be targeted specifically for limited English proficiency.

Regions- Collaborations
The program will be implemented with partner organizations, in three sub-regions of IHA's membership area including the Binghamton, Utica-Rome, and the Capital Region. 

Regional partners involved in the collaborative project will include:

• Broome-Tioga WIB, Broome-Tioga BOCES, Lourdes Hospital, and United Health Services Hospitals.
  
• Herkimer-Madison-Oneida WIB, Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, Mohawk Valley Refugee Center, Community Memorial Hospital, Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare, Little Falls Hospital, Oneida Healthcare Center, Rome Memorial Hospital, and St. Elizabeth Medical Center; with a focus on adults within the local immigrant population through community organizations.  An emphasis will be placed on individuals that English language deficient, with participants being enrolled in appropriate English as a Second Language program. 
  
• Albany-Rensselaer-Schenectady WIB, Capital District Educational Opportunity Center, Albany Medical Center, Ellis Hospital, Northeast Health, Seton Health, and St. Peter's Hospital; with a focus on young adults in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties.

Program Elements
The NextTrac© program is an integrated training program consisting of four progressional Tracs to assess individual skill levels, training needs, and educational requirements for careers in health care.

SkillsTrac
All participants will receive career planning through IHA’s SkillsTrac program component.   Participants will explore information on health careers utilizing this Get Into Health Care website and the New York State's JobZone.  In addition, all participants will receive training in work readiness skills, which can lead to obtaining a National Work Readiness Credential (NWRC).

OnTrac
OnTrac© is geared for participants who do not currently possess a high school diploma or GED.  Students would be enrolled in a GED Program through the local BOCES to get them “On Trac” for continued training in a health care discipline. 

TrainTrac
TrainTrac© allows participants who possess the necessary basic academic skill levels an opportunity to be enrolled in a high demand health career training program.   Educational training will be offered through the local BOCES and community college for students to pursue a degree or certification as a CNA, Medical Records Clerk, or Health Unit Coordinator.  Grant funding would be utilized to cover the costs of tuition, books, fees and uniforms based on provider costs and length of training programs.

JobsTrac
JobsTrac© offers participants who complete a certification training program with assistance in resume writing, job search, and interviewing skills to prepare them to apply for employment with area health care providers.

Iroquois Healthcare Association
Iroquois is a not-for-profit health care trade organization that represents 57 hospitals and health care systems in Upstate New York, with offices located in Syracuse and Clifton Park.  Iroquois provides leadership and services in the areas of advocacy, workforce development, emergency preparedness, information services, organizational cost-saving efficiencies, and infection control practice improvement.   On behalf of its member’s, Iroquois works on various Workforce and related State-and Federally-funded projects.  The Iroquois’ Health Workforce Center has led Upstate New York in health care workforce development through collaborations with employers, job seekers, educational organizations, and other agencies related to workforce activities.

For more information about Iroquois' NextTrac Program, please contact
Karen Johnson at 315-410-6482.