Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Strengthen Health Care Workforce

 

Legislation (A3076-A/S447-C) Permits Nursing Students to Complete Up to One Third of Their Clinical Training Through Simulation Experiences

Legislation Will Expedite Training to Help Address Nursing Shortage and Improve Care for New Yorkers

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (A3076-A/S447-C) into law, strengthening New York’s health care workforce by permitting nursing students to complete up to one third of their clinical training through simulation experiences. Overseen by the New York State Education Department, simulation training gives students hands-on experience in clinical environments while allowing nursing education programs to offer more options for clinical education. As New York currently faces a nursing shortage, expanding simulation experiences can help expedite training and deliver an influx of nurses where they are needed most.

“Our nurses have been invaluable to our health care system, especially throughout the pandemic, but too often feel overworked doing the jobs that they love, which has only been amplified by the current nursing shortage,” Governor Hochul said. “I’m proud to sign legislation strengthening our health care workforce expediting training and allowing more capable nurses into the workforce improving care for all and creating a safer, healthier New York.”

We invested over $10 billion in a multi-year effort, all hands on deck across the board way to support our health care workers, our institutions. And that meant $4 billion in wages and bonuses for health care workers as just a way to say thank you.  

We know what you've gone through. We want you to stay in your profession. We launched the Nurses for Our Future Program to recruit the next generation of workers - over a thousand scholarships, full tuition, to go to people who want to enter this profession and get a two- or four-year degree at one of our institutions.  

Also, loan repayments. The cost of education is high. So, we help repay their loans. $2.5 million also - helping to train nurses to go into our underserved communities. And that can be a rural area, it can be a very densely populated city block, but we know where they are and we're trying to get more personnel to go into them.  

This will make nursing education more accessible, helping to address New York’s nursing shortage, which is projected to reach a workforce need of nearly 40,000 employees by 2030. Training needed to become a highly skilled nurse in New York limits clinical placements in a hospital setting, and until students complete those placements, they cannot receive their nursing license and join the workforce. Instead of forcing eager students to wait for an open spot in a hospital, expanding simulated training will help clear the logjam, address the shortage, and ensure high quality care for millions of New Yorkers. High-tech, high-quality simulation training is already in place in 31 states.