IHA is very excited to announce to that we were awarded a statewide MLTC Workforce Investment Organization (WIO) designation from the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH).

This initiative, referred to as the Workforce Investment Program, makes available up to $245 million through March 2020 for initiatives to retrain, recruit and retain healthcare workers in the long–term care sector. Through the Workforce Investment Program, DOH will require MLTC plans to contract with designated WIOs, to:

  • Invest in initiatives to attract, recruit and retain long term care workers in the areas they serve;
  • Develop plans to address reductions in health disparities by focusing on the placement of long–term care workers in medically underserved communities;
  • Consistently analyze the changing training and employment needs of the area that the program serves;
  • Provide for broad participation and input from stakeholders; and
  • Support the expansion of home care and respite care, enabling those in need of long–term care to remain in their homes and communities and reduce New York´s Medicaid costs associated with long–term care.

While we are still sorting out the details, DOH has indicated they intend to issue further guidance pertaining to next steps for the WIO structure in the coming weeks. We will keep you advised of additional details as they become available.