In the News

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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.

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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…

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Times Union

ALBANY — Cohoes resident Heather Jordan lives in a house with holes in every wall, a dented stainless-steel refrigerator and doors that have at one time or another been ripped off their hinges. Her 19-year-old son, Terry, is responsible for the damage.

Terry, who is nonverbal and diagnosed with the most severe form of autism, experiences episodes when he becomes very aggressive, often ramming his head into people like Jordan, walls and even lockers at school…

…According to a 2024 report by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the U.S. is “experiencing a mental health crisis with increased levels of unmet behavioral health needs among people of all ages.” Adult and adolescent psychiatrists are among the specialties in the strongest demand across the state, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Health Workforce Studies in 2024.

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Politico

In a letter this week to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the association argued the policy could exacerbate the country’s health care workforce shortage by making it more expensive for hospitals to train medical residents and hire physicians who commit to working in underserved areas as a condition of their visa.

“The need for additional physicians is critical and there are not enough US citizen doctors to fill the need,” GNYHA President Kenneth Raske wrote in the letter…

…And New York is a major contributor to the country’s physician workforce: Almost half of medical residents who train in the state end up practicing elsewhere in the U.S., according to the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies.

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Dentistry Today

The gag reflex is a natural and necessary defense mechanism. But in the dental office, it often becomes a barrier, not just to patient care, but to staff well-being, efficient scheduling, and overall practice performance. What might seem like a minor issue can be actually far more disruptive than many oral hygiene practitioners may realize…

…In my own conversations with dentists and practice managers, they often point straight to margin loss and profitability issues when it comes to scheduling delays and staff burnout. When a patient gags repeatedly during an x-ray or impression, the appointment may need to be rescheduled or extended significantly. That extra time cuts into a provider’s schedule and, in many cases, results in lost revenue.

And the impact isn’t just financial. A 2023 study from the University of Albany reported that nearly 80% of oral health providers reported some level of burnout.3 For dental teams already stretched thin, consistent disruptions from gag reflex issues only make things more complicated.

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Greater Long Island

Suffolk County Community College just landed the biggest grant in its history — nearly $1 million a year for five years — to send more nurses and healthcare workers into the field for Long Island’s strained medical workforce.

The $4.98 million award comes from the New York State Department of Health’s Healthcare Education and Life-Skills Program (HELP) and will kick in January 2026.

The funds will help cover tuition for students in Suffolk’s registered nursing, practical nursing, clinical medical assistant and certified nursing assistant programs. Tuition support for students is expected to roll out beginning in fall 2026…

…A report last year from the Center for Health Workforce Studies found that workforce shortages are the leading cause of recruitment difficulties in hospitals, with non-competitive salaries also a major barrier.

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Crain’s New York Business

The Northwell School of Health Sciences in Woodside welcomed its first class of 230 ninth-graders in early September.

New York hospitals face clinical shortages as low pay and burnout drive recruitment challenges. One mega system is taking matters into its own hands by bringing scrubs and stethoscopes into the classroom…

…“The shortages are everywhere,” said Dr. Robert Martiniano, senior program manager at the University of Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies. That includes deficits of low-wage workers like home health aides as well as nurse practitioner and doctor jobs that require years of training, he said, demanding a multitude of workforce initiatives to help officials fill the gaps.

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Mid Hudson News

DUTCHESS COUNTY – Duchess BOCES’ Career and Technical Institute (CTI) has partnered with Empress Emergency Medical Services to launch a new EMT program this month for high school juniors. Students who complete both years of the two-year course will be eligible to take the EMT exam…

…The program was established by Principal Nick Millas who said “We track the labor statistics and try to identify the gaps we have to help with workforce development to meet the needs of industry and look for student interest.” According to the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Albany, the demand for EMTs and paramedics is expected to grow by 25 percent between 2022 and 2032.

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The Capitol Pressroom

September 5, 2025- David Armstrong, project director at the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany, discusses why doctors trained in New York often choose to stay and practice in the state on the latest episode.

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Times Union

There are no dentists in Hamilton County.

There are no OB-GYNs, either. And only one pediatrician, located in the far southeast corner of the county, according to a report from the state comptroller’s office.

The report, published this month, examines 16 rural counties containing just 3.8% of the state’s population but over 37% of its land mass. Despite fewer than 750,000 people inhabiting these counties, doctor-patient ratios can fall well below recognized guidelines, creating “an alarming lack of access to basic care,” the report says.

 Access to health care is especially concerning in light of the federal law passed in July known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” due to cuts to eligibility for Medicaid and New York’s Essential Plan that could impact rural hospitals, the study asserts.

It’s not a new issue, according to David Armstrong, project director at the Center for Health Workforce Studies, a research center at the University at Albany. The center issues an annual report on where physicians go to work after completing residencies in New York. While the number staying in New York has gradually increased — from 45% in 2015 to 52% in 2024 — the number planning to practice in underserved areas remains small, at 16%, and in rural areas even smaller, at 4%.

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