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The Center Square

(The Center Square) — Hundreds of New York health care workers will be getting a free ride to state colleges this year as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s agenda to boost the state’s workforce.

The Hochul administration announced on Monday that 500 applicants have been selected to receive the New York State Health Care Workers for Our Future Scholarship. The scholarship will cover tuition, room and board for a two-year degree at any of the State University of New York’s campuses if the applicants commit to working in an “underserved” area for two years after graduation…

…New York is among many states experiencing higher-than-normal levels of staffing shortages in health care, specifically at hospitals, nursing homes and ambulatory care, according to a recent report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies.

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WSYR

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state is giving $646 million to three organizations over the next three years. It’s part of the Career Pathways Training Program to attract more new health care workers to the field statewide…

…The announcement came within days of a report—available at the bottom of this story—from the University at Albany on shortages of registered nurses at New York’s hospitals. It identified several major factors that lead new Registered Nurses (RNs) to leave the field within their first three years, including:

  • Stressful, rigid working conditions causing burnout
  • Pandemic-era training deficiencies
  • Younger workers more willing to change jobs for more money or a flexible schedule

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NewsNation

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state is giving $646 million to three organizations over the next three years. It’s part of the Career Pathways Training Program to attract more new health care workers to the field statewide…

…The announcement came within days of a report—available at the bottom of this story—from the University at Albany on shortages of registered nurses at New York’s hospitals. It identified several major factors that lead new Registered Nurses (RNs) to leave the field within their first three years, including:

  • Stressful, rigid working conditions causing burnout
  • Pandemic-era training deficiencies
  • Younger workers more willing to change jobs for more money or a flexible schedule

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WNYT News Channel 13

According to a recent report released by the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health, New York continues to struggle to bolster its registered nursing (RN) workforce.

Researchers conducted interviews and focus groups with chief nursing executives, human resource experts, and nurse recruiters representing over 50 hospitals across New York State. CHWS also interviewed staff from state and regional hospital associations and analyzed a number of available data sources on the state’s RN workforce.

In Upstate New York, 92.6% respondents said RNs were difficult to recruit and 97.1% said RNs were difficult to retain.

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WRGB CBS 6 Albany

CAPITAL REGION, NY (WRGB) — New York State is saying thank you to front-line workers by giving upwards of three thousand dollars to individuals in the healthcare industry.

It’s part of the state’s Healthcare Worker Bonus program which started in 2022.

…While bonuses can be helpful, researchers at the Center for Healthcare Workforce Studies (CHWS) say they’ve seen recruitment bonuses help in the past.

“It’s potential to stabilize the workforce, it’s really important for the state to make these kinds of investments and make sure that the health workforce understands their values,” said Jean Moore, Director of CHWS…

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Daily Gazette

ALBANY — Barriers to oral health care are markedly high in the Mohawk Valley, according to a statewide report.

A recently released study from the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies found that nearly 90% of residents in the six-county region live in areas with wide dental service gaps.

It runs in stark contrast to the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Capital Region and Long Island where care is significantly more prevalent. The overall statewide rate for high-need communities is 14% — nearly 73 points lower than the Mohawk Valley.

“There are a lot of moving parts here,” said CHWS Director Jean Moore. “What I would say to you is that, clearly, Mohawk Valley has issues, but one of the things that I really like about this work is that it breaks it down by service areas so that problems may be different in different parts of the Mohawk Valley.”

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City & State

In New York, and across the country, it is undeniably true that our health care workforce is on the front lines of forging health equity. While this has always been the case, it became especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when the energy and support for nurses flourished at an incredibly challenging time. Though the pandemic has waned and many of us have returned to regular working conditions, the pressures on nurses, individually and collectively, persists. According to 2023 re-registration surveys in New York, 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 – nearly the same percentage as nurses ages 60 and up who are planning to soon retire.

Nurses have always been the backbone of our health care system, serving as the first point of interaction with patients and advocating for them as key intermediaries with physicians. To ensure we have a sustained, skilled and diverse workforce for years to come, the private and public sectors must partner on short- and long-term investments in both the recruitment and retention of nurses.

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Medical Xpress

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 (CHWS) at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health, indicates that improving access to  services in New York State requires a broader understanding of oral health needs and the challenges that underserved populations face. The study, conducted by CHWS, identified geographic areas throughout the state with the highest oral health needs.

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Vox

Michael Bloomberg last week gave $1 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to make medical school free for most students there.

It’s a well-meaning gesture, aiming to remedy America’s doctor shortages that have left more than 100 million Americans without access to regular primary care, particularly in rural and low-income communities. “By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about — and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most,” Bloomberg said in a statement…

…When you hear there is a shortage of physicians, you probably think: Okay, I get it, America doesn’t have enough doctors overall. Right?

“That question in and of itself is not decided,” Gaetano Forte, assistant director of SUNY Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies, told me.

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