Creating a Deaf Community Home Health Aide Program

Grantee Name

Unity Health System

Funding Area

Special Projects Fund

Publication Date

May 2008

Grant Amount

$95,667

Grant Date:

January 2007 – December 2007

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Rochester and Monroe County, NY, have some 12,000–15,000 Deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, an estimated 600 of whom are elderly.

This grant to Unity Health System’s home/community-based services supported training deaf individuals fluent in sign language to become home health aides to serve elderly deaf people living in Rochester and Monroe County.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

Use community outreach to identify and enroll Deaf clients eligible for Unity HHA services.
Produce flyers, brochures, a Web page, and online advertisements about the availability of the new program and employment opportunities for Deaf or American Sign Language-fluent HHA candidates.
Hold four HHA training sessions, two of which included Deaf individuals who were trained to be HHAs serving Deaf clients.
Employ six HHAs in addition to the program coordinator and a second social worker professional (both of whom are Deaf) serving the Deaf community.
Serve people, including five who received adaptive services and two who had home health aides.

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