A day-long educational forum, focusing on the Certified Nursing Assistant and Home Healthcare Worker Shortage has been set for November 6th, at Paul Smith’s College.

The forum will provide an overview of THRIVE, a pilot project that aims to increase retention of certified nursing assistants and home health care workers.

The presentation will highlight the decline in caregivers nationwide and what is influencing these declines. THRIVE will be highlighted as a potential solution that once demonstrated could be replicated on a national level.

Hosted by Mercy Care for the Adirondacks, with support from Adirondack Foundation, the forum features two nationally recognized experts: Joyce Markiewicz, RN, BSN, MBA, CHCE, Executive Vice President & Chief Business Development Officer at Catholic Health in Buffalo, and Amber Slichta, RN, MS, Vice-President of Programs, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

A panel of experts will discuss how the frontline and direct care workforce shortage crisis in the Adirondacks and around the State is impacting people who need care, the impact on health care institutions, and the consequences of inadequate home care for people who need it and their families.

Panelists include Becky Preve, Director, Franklin County Office for the Aging; Becky Leahy, Executive Director, North Country Home Services; Madaline Toliver, Administrator, AVP Long Term Care, Adirondack Health; Marc Walker, Regional Director, Elderwood of Uihlein at Lake Placid; and Maria Alvarez, Executive Director, New York StateWide Senior Action Council.

Joyce Markiewicz previously served as Executive Vice President/CEO Home and Community Based Care at Catholic Health which included home care and nursing services. Catholic Health is a billion-dollar health system with four hospitals on five campuses serving both Erie and Niagara Counties. Overall the health system employs 10,000 people.

Amber Slichta previously served as vice president at the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, where she developed and implemented several major initiatives to improve the lives of children in poverty. She also facilitated many key partnerships and other projects that furthered the Foundation’s mission.

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.’s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise.

The forum will run from 9:30 am to 3 pm, in the Stirling Tomkins Pine Room, Joan Weill Student Center, Paul Smith’s College.

There is a $25 registration fee, which includes lunch. To register for the forum, contact Holly, Program Associate for Mercy Care for the Adirondacks, at (518) 523-5583 or by e-mail at hhuber@adkmercy.org. You may also register for the forum on Mercy Care’s website. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.