Advocacy Award Winner
Greg Olsen
Director, New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA)
Albany, NY
As a state agency director, Greg Olsen has been a distinguished and consistent advocate for home care.
Under his leadership, NYSOFA has cultivated an unparalleled collaborative relationship with HCA, calling the home care community into partnership on strategies to support the home care workforce and address worker shortages.
He and his team have adopted a proactive outreach approach to home care providers, seeking input on policies, procedures and new initiatives, such as his Department’s responsibility to develop an Aging Abuse and Neglect Screen and Program, as well as a research study his office commissioned on the economic argument for home care investment.
He has become a state and national spokesperson for the HCA sepsis initiative, devoting untold hours on education, programming and a public service announcement to foster awareness and collaboration with local area offices on aging regarding the sepsis crisis.
Last year, he advocated for HCA’s workforce legislation as well as for mental health-home health collaboration legislation that was ultimately signed by the Governor.
Considering the usual level of overwhelming demands on a state agency executive, Mr. Olsen has made his active and vocal support of home care a priority – and he continues to back it with steady action.
The Advocacy Award
The Advocacy Award recognizes a provider agency or person (including both elected and appointed officials) who took risks to improve the home care industry, clients and workers through advocacy efforts.