In the News

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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Inside Dentistry

…At Apple Tree Dental in Minnesota, dental therapy has been part of the care model for more than a decade—providing evidence for professionals seeking data, not anecdotes.

Heather Luebben, one of Minnesota’s first dental therapists, works within pediatric specialty and special care teams serving children and adults with complex needs. “Dental therapists allow us to triage care based on complexity,” Luebben says. “Dentists can focus on patients who truly need specialist care, while we deliver high-quality preventive and restorative services sooner and in more accessible settings.”

In 2024 alone, Apple Tree Dental delivered $46.5 million in dental care, with $9 million provided by dental therapists across fixed clinics and more than 150 community sites. Research conducted in partnership with the Center for Health Workforce Studies shows increased dentist productivity, high patient and provider satisfaction, more dental needs met in fewer visits, and timelier access to care.

For clinics navigating workforce shortages, these outcomes matter.

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Nurse Educator Tips for Teaching

Nursing education programs across the US continue to face ongoing shortages of nursing faculty. This study examined salary differences between nursing faculty and other nurses using 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses data and identified specific factors contributing to these disparities. The adjusted annual salary of nursing faculty was $18,346 less than staff nurses, $19,863 less than charge nurses, and $27,526 less than front-line managers. Persistent salary disparities between nursing faculty and other nursing roles discourage nurses from pursuing academic careers.

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Newsday

…Home health aides are state-certified health care professionals who play a central role in New York’s health care system as they provide care for people with disabilities and older adults like John Small who opt to remain in their homes rather than entering nursing care or assisted living facilities.

The Smalls have lived in their East Meadow home for nearly 20 years, a key reason they chose to pay for home aides.

“It is better for patients to be in their surroundings,” Patricia Small said.

As Long Island’s population ages, demand for home health aides is surging — with the workforce projected to grow nearly 40% statewide by 2030, according to the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany. But the industry is already struggling to keep up, constrained by low wages, limited public transportation and tightening immigration policies that experts say could leave thousands of seniors without the help they need to safely age at home.

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The St. Louis American

Furaha Moyé owes her smile to Harlem United.

The community health center, based in Upper Manhattan, has served as a steady source of affordable, quality dental care for the 76-year-old Harlem resident for more than a decade.

…Frustrated by how expensive dental care is, Moyé is equally grateful to Harlem United for its commitment to serving patients regardless of their ability to pay. Too often, the financial stresses that come with accessing dental services can stand in the way of overall good health, she said.

…Finding a dental provider who accepts Medicaid can be a challenge. In New York State, the program reimburses participating dentists at about a third or less of average dental charges, according to 2024 data released by the American Dental Association. Only one-third of New York dentists accept Medicaid, according to a report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at The State University of New York at Albany.

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New York Amsterdam News

…For many, Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income individuals and people with disabilities, can serve as a lifeline for accessing affordable dental care. Jointly funded by the federal government and state governments, Medicaid provides comprehensive dental care to children under the age of 21; coverage for adults varies by state. Only 11 states (not including New York) and Washington, D.C., provide extensive dental coverage for adults, according to data published by the CareQuest Institute.

Barriers to Medicaid acceptance

Finding a dental provider who accepts Medicaid can be a challenge. In New York State, the program reimburses participating dentists at about a third or less of average dental charges, according to 2024 data released by the American Dental Association. Only one-third of New York dentists accept Medicaid, according to a report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at The State University of New York at Albany.

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Medical Xpress

The production of new nurses to help address national nursing shortages starts with the educational pipeline. However, substantial and persistent salary disparities exist between nursing faculty and nurses working in clinical and non-academic roles across the U.S., according to a new study published in Nurse Educator by Center for Health Workforce Studies researchers at the University at Albany’s College of Integrated Health Sciences. The study utilized data from the 2022 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.

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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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