Creating a Deaf Community Home Health Aide Program
Rochester and Monroe County, NY, have some 12,000–15,000 Deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, an estimated 600 of whom are elderly.Grantee Name
Unity Health System
Funding Area
Special Projects Fund
Publication Date
May 2008
Grant Amount
$95,667
Grant Date:
January 2007 – December 2007
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.