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 Dental News

NEW YORK: A new bill introduced in New York’s state legislature aims to license dental therapists, a mid-level profession that supporters believe could expand dental care access, lower costs, and reduce waiting times. Dental therapists, often compared to physician assistants in medicine, are trained to perform routine dental procedures like fillings, extractions, and cleanings under the supervision of dentists.

Currently licensed in 14 U.S. states and over 50 countries, dental therapists could serve as a solution to the oral health access gap in New York, where two-thirds of residents live in high-need areas for dental care, according to a study by the Center for Health Workforce Studies. Proponents, such as Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, argue that the measure would address disparities in dental care access for underserved communities, particularly those without dental insurance or on Medicaid.

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Crain’s New York Business

New York nursing homes are chronically understaffed, a shortcoming enabled by pandemic-era workforce challenges and recent mandates that have never been enforced.

New York nursing homes have among the worst performance in meeting set nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in the country, with only 20% of providers meeting or exceeding federally recommended levels, according to a new analysis of federal data…

…New York has lower nurse-to-patient ratios than 44 states and territories according to the LTCCC data. Nursing homes have reported certified nurse aides and registered nurses to be among the most difficult to recruit and retain positions, according to a recent survey from the Center for Healthcare Workforce Studies at SUNY Albany. That is primarily due to workforce shortages and non-competitive salaries, the study found.

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Newsday

State legislation pending in Albany would license dental therapy in New York, a profession that supporters say would lower costs, expand access to dentistry, shorten waits and improve oral health…

…An estimated 68.5 million adults go without dental insurance, according to the 2023 State of Oral Health Equity in America survey by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. In parts of New York, two-thirds of the population live in high needs areas for oral health, according to a study published in July by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health.

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Becker’s Dental and DSO Review

A report from the Center for Health Workforce Studies revealed that 43.4% of New York residents struggled to receive dental services.

About two-thirds of New Yorkers had a perceived need for oral healthcare in the past year, compared to 61.1% of individuals across the U.S.

Being unable to afford going to the dentist, not having dental insurance and difficulties finding a dentist who accepts their dental plan were three of the top barriers that New Yorkers faced when accessing dental services.

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Spotlight News

Oral health plays a critical role in a person’s overall health and well-being, yet many New Yorkers face limited access to the oral health services they need. Identifying where these needs are most acute can help guide resource allocation to fill service gaps.

A new report, released by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany’s College of Integrated Health Sciences, indicates that improving access to oral health services in New York State requires a broader understanding of oral health needs and the challenges that underserved populations face.

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Crain’s New York Business

New York is opening the floodgates for more medical providers to administer fluoride to kids as President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration floated a proposal that could limit access.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law on Saturday allowing dental assistants and licensed practical nurses to apply topical fluoride treatments to kids’ teeth – a treatment previously left up to providers such as medical dentists, pediatricians and dental hygienists. The law, which goes into effect immediately, attempts to open new pathways for children to get treatments that can prevent cavities and tooth decay, as workforce challenges and high costs create barriers for individuals and families to access the treatment from their dentist.

The law will expand the number of providers statewide who can give fluoride treatment to kids, combatting workforce challenges that have created long waiting lists for dental care, said Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at SUNY Albany. The law may help kids access preventive oral care in school clinics, federally qualified health centers and pediatricians’ offices, Moore said, and comes as the incoming federal administration has raised a proposal that could undermine efforts to administer fluoride in public drinking water.

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News Day

Fluoride treatments to teeth are now legally allowed to be applied by more types of health professionals, under legislation signed late this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Effective immediately, under a dentist’s supervision, registered dental assistants and licensed practical nurses can also provide the treatment, a fluoride varnish, which helps prevent tooth decay and strengthens tooth enamel. Parents and guardians under the supervision of a licensed provider can also apply the treatment…

…There are parts of the state in which two-thirds of the population live in high needs areas for oral health, according to a study published in July by the Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health at the University at Albany.

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Nursing World

Today the American Nurses Credentialing Center is excited to announce that the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, New York’s largest grantmaking organization focused on improving the health and well-being of vulnerable communities, is premiering its new Nursing Initiative. It’s a grant program created to support safety net hospitals across the state that provide a significant amount of care to high-need populations. The selected hospitals can receive up to $5 million respectively to pursue the Magnet Recognition Program® or the Pathway to Excellence® program from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, as well as implement or expand virtual nursing and nurse residency programs…

…The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation developed the Nursing Initiative following the launch of its healthcare workforce report with the University of Albany Center for Health Workforce Studies. According to data referenced in the report, 15% of hospital patient care RNs between the ages of 20 and 39 reported plans to leave their current position within the next 12 months, underscoring the urgency of mitigating further declines. The study found that despite sizable investments committed to address healthcare workforce shortages, New York is still struggling to bolster its registered nursing workforce statewide…

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Times Union

When people’s education, skills and experience are not put to work, the unused human capital is an economic loss to us all. Physicians, engineers, computer programmers and teachers enter our country legally every year through the US Refugee Admissions Program, are resettled in upstate New York and become permanent residents after one year. Unfortunately, many refugees with university educations and professional experience remain unemployed or underemployed, working in jobs that do not require a college degree…

…According to a University at Albany Center for Health Workforce Studies report, New York has workforce shortages in all health care settings. These shortages affect all of us when we must wait many months to see a specialist or get special tests or scans, or must wait many hours for care in short-staffed emergency rooms. Yet a 2020 Migration Policy Institute report estimated that 22,000 immigrants and refugees in New York with a least a four-year college degree in medical fields were unemployed or underemployed.

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Crain’s New York Business

More than half a million home health workers in New York have fueled the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery as a popular Medicaid-funded home care program exploded, a new report shows…

…Growth in the state’s home care workforce has inflated overall job growth in the industry, hiding persisting shortages of other types of clinicians. Hospitals are still struggling to recruit and retain lab technicians, psychiatrists and registered nurses after the pandemic, according to a report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at SUNY Albany. Experts have chalked up the persistence of health workforce shortages to low pay.

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