ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Seven predominantly Black churches in Rochester will offer health care advice along with spiritual guidance during Mother’s Day services this Sunday.
“We realize in the black culture, the church is really the heart of the community,” says Deanna McEwen, a compliance nurse at HCR Home Care. HCR Homecare has enlisted the help of pastors in the hope that those who lead worship can help connect aging parishioners and their families with information about medical services that might be available to them.
Rita Gaither’s 96-year-old mother Eva is a former nurse who raised two sets of twins 15 months apart. Years after all those twins were grown, she kept right on caring for people. “She used her expertise to take care of her aging friends,” Gaither says.
But then, Eva got COVID and after an extended hospital stay, she needed some help at home. She found it through HCR Home Care. “She had to learn how to walk all over again and so they came in and they did their thing, it was absolutely amazing,” Gaither recalls.
With a roughly $700,000 federal ARPA grant awarded through Monroe County, HCR Home Care wants to reach more families like Gaithers.
“Black communities were hit hard during the pandemic, not just by COVID itself but by underlying health issues like diabetes and kidney disease that made their health outcomes much worse,” McEwen says.
That data will be weaved into a message from the pulpit this weekend.
“You can get services in your home, the comfort of your home, have family involvement, have spiritual involvement so, really we’ve found that most seniors who are 65 and up they have Medicare, Medicare will cover these services right in the comfort of your own home,” McEwen says.
Life expectancy in Monroe County varies widely by zip code and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello says this grant intends to help close that gap by hiring more home health care workers and sending them into the homes of people most in need. “With our pastors and really that intense outreach, we’re hoping to reach an additional 50,000 people to help them understand what their options are and how this health care system and all the various pieces of it can all work together to help and provide better outcomes” Bello says.
The ARPA funding will support a community outreach and education strategy that Bello says includes the following:
Pastor-Focused Briefings: Empowering faith leaders to educate their congregationsabout home healthcare resources. Customized Church Materials: Developing culturally-relevant education materials andmessaging tailored for each church community. Video Testimonials: Featuring real families sharing their experiences with homehealthcare. Workforce Training: Providing pastors and church leaders with training on healthcaresystems, cultural competency and strategies to assist parishioners in navigating careoptions. Caregiver Development: Strengthening the pipeline of culturally competent homehealthcare workers through targeted workforce initiatives.As part of the initiative, HCR Home Care will host informational sessions at seven Rochesterchurches on Mother’s Day, May 11, 2025:
New Life Fellowship, 330 Wellington Avenue, Rochester NY 14619 Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 141 Adams Street, Rochester NY 14608 First Church of God, 334 Clarissa Street, Rochester NY 14608 Prayer House Church of God by Faith, 270 Cumberland Street, Rochester NY 14605 In Christ New Hope Ministry, 155 Pinnacle Road, Rochester NY 14623 Helping Hands Missionary Baptist Church, 703 Joseph Avenue, Rochester NY 14623 New Bethel CME Church, 270 Scio Street, Rochester NY 14605*AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses AI*
Pastors alter traditional Mother’s Day sermon to connect aging parishioners with home care services WHEC.com.
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