A program designed to provide job opportunities in the health care field to low-income people is making headway in Rochester.
That was the message Thursday from various officials, including those with Action for a Better Community which is helping administer the program for Health Professional Opportunity Grants.
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter announced the $1.6 million grant last year, and she says it provides training for people in a variety of health care positions.
“Often these opportunities are in fields that are in high demand, or seeing a shortage of qualified employees including jobs in nursing, health IT and health administration just to name a few.”
The director of the grant program, Donald Hardaway, says the effort is designed to help people who are economically disadvantaged overcome certain barriers.
“Some of those barriers include things like unreliable transportation, inadequate living conditions, inconsistent health care, lack of education in order to secure positions in order to take advantage of positions in the health care field.”
The program currently has more than 100 participants and the grant runs for five years. Officials expect to have provided training and health care job opportunities to about a thousand people by the time the grant program is over.
