Nurses, Tarantulas, and Curious Chimpanzees
WAMC
Uncategorized
With Nurses in Demand, Faculty Shortages Squeeze the Pipeline (With Video)
Daily Gazette
ALBANY — Jessica McNally discovered her passion for teaching two decades ago while being shadowed by a nursing student during one of her shifts at St. Clare’s Hospital.
She turned that passion into a full-time career in 2008, when the Schenectady-based hospital ceased operations. The transition created what McNally describes as “the perfect scenario” to train the next generation of registered nurses while maintaining her skills working with students in clinical settings.
“It’s the best parts of nursing for me. It’s extremely rewarding,” said McNally, who now serves as the department chair at the Andrea Lewis Siek School of Nursing at Maria College in Albany…
…Nursing faculty earn $18,346 less on average than clinical staff nurses, according to a report published last year in the Nurse Educator journal. The report found that faculty nurses earn $19,863 less than charge nurses and an average of $27,526 below what front-line nurse managers earn.
The study also concluded that faculty at nursing colleges work longer hours on average than their counterparts and typically have decades more experience, which are “attributes that would typically require higher salaries in clinical roles.”
New Report Highlights Growing Demand for Nurses in New York
Rochester First
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – A new report out of Albany shows the demand for registered nurses in New York is outpacing the number of those entering the workforce.
As the nationwide shortage continues, News 8 heard from local college leaders on their continued efforts to train and place qualified nurses.
Over the next five years, the New York State Department of Labor projects more than 15,000 openings for RNs each year.
You’ve Been Warned: Dental Implant Costs Are Highest In These US States
Money Digest
As per healthcare payment solution provider Credee, a full mouth dental implant will incur an average cost of $15,000 to $35,000 per arch in 2026. This doesn’t include the cost of pre- and post-operative procedures, which raise these amounts to anywhere from $60,000 to $90,000. Out of all the sneaky factors that can drive up the cost of dental implants, the location of your procedure is one of the most controllable factors. The cost of dental implants are highest in several states, specifically Maine, New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island, Maryland, the District of Columbia, California, Massachusetts, Alaska, and Hawaii…
There are a few reasons for the premium cost of dental implants in New York, one which is the quality of experience and expertise. According to a 2022 study by the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS), 56% of dentists were trained in a residency program, with 80% of working dentists having worked at private dental clinics, and 76% having experience as general dentists. Second, the same reasons why living in New York with an average income typically makes you lower class apply with higher dental costs. The cost of operating a business can be higher, and as with anything else, this gets passed on to the patient. State-of-the-art patient care also comes with its own cost, and if your dentist is using the latest technology to perform procedures like dental implants, you can expect to pay for that, too. In 2024, the CHWS found that one in six New Yorkers couldn’t afford dental care for a reason.
New York Faces Growing Nurse Shortage As Training Pipeline Strains Under Pressure
Spectrum News 1
The demand for registered nurses in New York is outpacing the number of people entering the profession, as a new report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies reveals mounting barriers to training and retaining nursing talent across the state.
The state Department of Labor projects more than 17,000 annual openings for registered nurses between 2022 and 2032. The state is currently producing roughly 10,000 new nurses per year — a gap that experts warn will widen if structural problems go unaddressed.
About half of nursing programs reported turning away qualified applicants last year, citing insufficient faculty, shortages of clinical training sites and enrollment caps.
Robert Martiniano, the report’s author, pointed to pay disparities as a root cause.
“When you look at faculty salaries versus bedside salaries, there’s still a huge disparity there,” Martiniano said.
‘Brink of Collapse’: Rural EMS Providers Face Challenges in New York
Daily Gazette
ALBANY — Mark Souza remembers what he describes as the “crash.”
It was 2019 and what started as a normal Friday quickly devolved into chaos, when the then-volunteer emergency medical services coordinator for Fulton County learned the Ambulance Service of Fulton County had ceased operations due to financial pressures…
The report includes 38 recommendations to stabilize the rural EMS system, including declaring a public health emergency that will allow resources to more easily flow to needed areas, as well as increasing government support for ambulance services. But it’s unclear how much it will cost to implement the recommendations or how quickly the policies can be adopted.
It’s a situation that some say reflects longstanding barriers in attracting workers to rural areas that are exacerbated by a declining population, lack of childcare options and low wages.
“This report only describes what’s been going on for years and years. It’s nothing new,” said Robert Martiniano, the senior program manager at the Center for Health Workforce Solutions based out of the University at Albany.
‘This Was Home’: What the Closure of a St. Peter’s Nursing Home Means for the Capital Region
Times Union
ALBANY — About seven years ago, Albany resident Marsha Penrose received short-term treatment at St. Peter’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to recover from an injury that left her wheelchair-bound. “This was home,” Penrose said. “This was a wonderful place to recover, and I think it’s a terrible loss for the people in Albany.”…
…Mazzacco said prospective residents and families told staff they were looking for private rooms and modernized spaces. This is something Robert Martiniano, senior program manager at the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies, has noticed in his research.
“The elderly have many more options than they did before,” Martiniano said.
Those options include 55 and older active adult communities, such as The Spinney atVan Dyke in Delmar, and senior apartments, including a mixed-use developmentbeing built in Albany called Freedom Springs. “It’s important to understand that nursing homes are less and less needed nowbecause of these other options, because there is that whole theory of aging in place,that people don’t necessarily need to be in a nursing home,” Martiniano added.”We’ve also got an older population that’s pretty much dying off because the BabyBoomers, as they get older and older, they’re not around. So we’re seeing a lot morebeds shut down.”
Service Industries Drive New York’s Economic Growth, Comptroller Reports
Inform NNY
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report on Monday that showed service industries fueling New York’s economy. The data revealed that health care and education jobs dominate, while traditional manufacturing continues a decades-long decline.
“Service-providing industry sectors have powered job growth across New York state and have helped shape the 21st century economic landscape,” DiNapoli said.
DiNapoli’s office tallied service providers as holding more than 85% of the state’s almost 9.7 million jobs and said health care accounted for over 20% of all employment in New York. The New York State Department of Labor expects the health sector to grow another 27.8% by 2032, adding over half a million jobs that require new workers.
But a report from the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany found that hospitals and nursing homes already struggled to hire and retain enough nurses in 2024, mostly blaming low salaries. The growing need for medical professionals for an aging population requiring more care unfortunately coincides with worker shortages in healthcare, and national data mirrors the local trend. A 2025 Oak Ridge Associated Universities study found that enrollment in nursing programs dropped 1.4% in 2024, while medical school enrollments fell for the third year in a row.
Northern Area Health Education Center in Canton Awarded $5 Million Grant
North Country Now
CANTON — Northern Area Health Education Center (NAHEC) has been awarded a $5 million, five-year grant through the Healthcare Education and Life-skills Program (HELP), funded by the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Healthcare Workforce Innovation.
Launching January 1, 2026, the program will address the region’s critical healthcare workforce shortages by providing mentorship, training, wraparound support, and life-skills education for students and trainees pursuing healthcare careers…
…The Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) will support evaluation and continuous improvement by analyzing workforce outcomes and participant data to guide ongoing refinement.
Commentary: New York Needs More Community Health Workers. Here’s How to Expand Their Ranks
Times Union
With health care cuts an ongoing concern for people across the U.S., here’s what should concern New Yorkers the most: the health care workforce shortage, with unfilled positions straining services across the state.
According to the Healthcare Association of New York State, last year 97% of New York hospitals reported a shortage of nurses, and 88% reported a need for non-nursing healthcare personnel. A report from the Center for Health Workforce Studies confirmed that these shortages span all health care settings, with a particular concentration among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and entry-level aides.
And while much of the focus has been on nursing — affected by thousands of vacancies — there are other roles that are just as crucial to improving treatment outcomes…