January 7, 2022 — Faced with a growing nursing shortage as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new Nurses For Our Future Scholarships in December to cover tuition for 1,000 new healthcare workers to get their RNs at SUNY and CUNY.
This scholarship program is designed to recruit and retrain nursing and healthcare professionals. With more than 9,300 openings for registered nurses in New York state, the scholarships are meant to help more people affordably train for a career in nursing. Students will be able to complete their programs with a flexible schedule of either part-time or full-time study.
In addition, the state Labor Department will help market these new opportunities to existing and unemployed workers, including opportunities available through regional SUNY Educational Opportunity Centers for entry-level nurse certifications in high demand including Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse and Nursing Home Aide.
CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said, “The pandemic has put a sharp focus on the need to increase treatment capacity across our health care system, and expanding the pipeline of diverse, skilled registered nurses is a key component of that proposition. CUNY is committed to training the next generation of nursing professionals.”
The announcement of the new nursing scholarship program follows the recent opening of Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. SUNY colleges and universities across New York offer more than 70 fully accredited nursing degree undergraduate and graduate programs, offering 17 different credentials in nursing from home health aide to doctoral and advanced certificates. CUNY graduates 1,800 students each year from more than 50 nursing advanced credit-bearing certificate and degree programs, including LPN, Associate, Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programs (DNP and Ph.D.) at 14 CUNY institutions, including nursing programs at both senior and community colleges.