How local org plans to spend portion of $646 million to fill health care jobs

Rochester, N.Y. (WROC) — In an effort to get more people working in the health care field, Governor Kathy Hochul is sending $646 million to three different organizations across New York State with orders to bolster recruitment and retention efforts.

An organization in Rochester – Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS) – is one of them.

It’s set to receive a portion of those state funds over three years to execute this plan in Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

FLPPS CEO Carol Tegas says while they will complete some of the direct work themselves, they will work with local well-established community organizations and health care systems to encourage people to move into the medical field.

“We’re going to really reach into the community and leverage what’s already there,” Tegas said.

Tegas says that will take the form of job fairs and student outreach, but FLPPS will also coordinate a large marketing campaign involving traditional ads and social media.

FLPPS will cover 18 counties in the attempt to fill in a depleted work force with the overall goal of making sure everyone has access to quality health care.

“We will be infusing the work force within our community with new health care workers, we will be providing opportunities to advance in their healthcare careers, that will rise all boat and really fuel economic development in our community, which is really important,” Tegas said.

Given FLPPS will handle and disperse a lot of taxpayer money, Tegas says the state will measure their success every step of the way.

“They will be held to deliverables, we will be held to very aggressive deliverables by the state and we don’t just get a check, we actually earn that money so we earn the dollars through implementation and execution of very specific deliverables,” Tegas said.

Tegas says the state will constantly measure success before handing out more money.

She adds increasing staffing is part of a larger effort to create more equity within the health care system.

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