Governor Hochul Announces $62 Million Investment to Establish SUNY Nursing Simulation Centers to Strengthen New York’s Health Care Workforce

University at Buffalo Selected as SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence

SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University Selected as Regional Nursing Simulation Centers

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that nursing simulation centers will be established on three SUNY campuses as part of her signature legislation to expand simulation-based education in SUNY nursing programs. The $62 million investment includes $35 million in direct SUNY capital awards, with the remaining funds contributed by campus matches. The three nursing simulation centers will be located on the University at Buffalo, SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University campuses.

“By investing in nurses of the future, we’re investing in the talent of aspiring professionals across our state and in the health care workforce we all rely on,” Governor Hochul said. “The SUNY nursing simulation centers will make extraordinary strides toward preparing students and strengthening the pipeline of excellence in our SUNY system and beyond.”

The University at Buffalo has been designated a SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence, envisioned as a cutting-edge hub for simulation-based education and innovation across the system. SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University have been named SUNY Regional Nursing Simulation Centers, and will serve as critical resources for the North Country and Long Island regions.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “SUNY is committed to strengthening New York’s healthcare workforce, and today’s groundbreaking investment in nursing simulation is a testament to this commitment, and a reminder of the key role public higher education plays in health outcomes and workforce development. Following enactment of Governor Hochul’s 2023 law championed by Senators Stavisky and Fahy and Assemblymember Lupardo to establish nursing simulation, SUNY is at the forefront of simulation-based nursing education – transforming how we prepare our students to address the healthcare workforce shortage and evolving healthcare needs of New Yorkers.”

The selected campuses will provide high-quality, hands-on training for some of the most needed clinical practice areas in health care, such as labor and delivery, high acuity cases, and community health. With their investments, each campus has committed to significant prelicensure nursing program enrollment growth, leveraging the legislation Governor Hochul signed in May of 2023 permitting nursing students to complete up to one-third of their clinical training through high-quality simulation experiences.

This further enhances the Governor’s other transformative initiatives to increase the state’s health care workforce, including Nurses and Healthcare Workers For Our Future Scholarships and free associate degrees at community colleges for students pursuing high-demand fields, including health care fields, all advancing Governor Hochul’s goal of growing New York’s health care workforce by 20 percent.

SUNY’s goal to fully leverage nursing simulation aligns with recommendations from the SUNY Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force , a group convened to guide SUNY in addressing the critical health care workforce shortage. In its findings, the task force identified fully leveraging nursing simulation as one of its four priority areas for short-term action and investment. The $62 million investment will directly support prelicensure nursing program enrollment increases. Collectively, the three designated simulation centers are projected to add hundreds of new prelicensure nursing students annually, while also expanding training capacity at partner SUNY campuses across the State.

The nursing simulation investment will have the following impact across participating campuses:

• At the University at Buffalo, the new system-wide nursing simulation center will support a 34 percent increase in prelicensure nursing enrollment in the first-year post-project completion, with a projected 67 percent increase over the next decade. By leveraging cutting-edge simulation technology and telepresence robots, UB will enable expanded in-person and remote participation in hyper-realistic clinical scenarios while fostering collaboration across campuses.
• At SUNY Canton, the new regional nursing simulation center will support significant growth across all levels of undergraduate nursing programs, including a 133 percent increase at the practical nursing level, a 160 percent increase at the associate’s level, and a 192 percent increase at the baccalaureate level within five years post-project completion. SUNY Canton’s simulation space will support nursing education in the North Country, where limited clinical placement opportunities present significant challenges in training future nurses, particularly in obstetrics, labor and delivery, and pediatric care.
• At Stony Brook University, the new regional nursing simulation center will support a 19 percent increase in prelicensure nursing enrollment in the first-year post-project completion, with a projected 27 percent increase over the next five years. Stony Brook will significantly expand its simulation space footprint to enhance in-person nursing education while also leveraging advanced simulcast software technology to provide remote learning opportunities across Long Island.