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I started a home health aide agency that services seniors and individuals with disabilities on Medicaid or that receive Veterans Assistance in Jersey City, NJ. The home health aides help clients with personal care such as bathing and cooking,…
I started a home health aide agency that services seniors and individuals with disabilities on Medicaid or that receive Veterans Assistance in Jersey City, NJ. The home health aides help clients with personal care such as bathing and cooking, housekeeping tasks, and escorting to medical appointments. I decided to open up my own agency when I noticed that there were specific areas with predominantly people of color that were being underserved. I worked for a larger established home care agency and realized that they were declining clients that needed assistance because they lived in "unsafe" neighborhoods. Even when that agency would try to send the referral to other agencies, they declined for the same reason. It is true that some of these areas were dangerous but seniors that live there still need help! I realized that there was an urgent need and decided that I would open in the underserved area of Greenville Jersey City. My biggest challenge was that home health aides were too scared to go into this neighborhood so I decided to train and certify local residents from Greenville. Our agency is also a Board of Nursing Certified training site for home health aides. We are now able to provide services and job opportunities to this impoverished area. There is a huge opportunity in this area because Jersey City is the second largest city in NJ and other agencies refuse to provide services in certain areas of Jersey City.