Upstate Medical, Binghamton leaders on SUNY task force on health-care worker shortage

ALBANY, N.Y. — The leaders of Upstate Medical University, Binghamton University, and SUNY Broome Community College are among 11 members of a new task force on New York’s health-care worker shortage.

Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University; Harvey Stenger, president of Binghamton University; and Tony Hawkins, president of SUNY Broome are part of the SUNY-wide “Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force.”

The group represents campuses educating more than half of SUNY’s overall health-care enrollment, per a SUNY announcement.

SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. announced the task force Friday while addressing the Health WorkForce New York, an organization that was formed in 2014 to improve access to quality health care in underserved communities.

King is convening the group “as New York State continues to work to fill a projected gap in health care professionals, particularly in the field of nursing,” SUNY said.

The task force will focus on expanding SUNY’s educational capacity in health-care profession shortage areas, “strengthening the pipeline” of students in professions that have been hit hardest, and aligning education with health-care industry needs.

“The ongoing shortage of health care professionals poses a significant long-term threat to our state’s ability to provide high-quality care to New Yorkers, and SUNY is a key part of the solution. As such, we must take immediate and concerted steps to ensure the availability of a highly trained, diverse, and sustainable health care workforce,” King said in the SUNY news release. “One step, which has already been taken thanks to Governor Hochul and our legislative partners, is to provide nursing students the opportunity to complete one-third of their clinical work in a high-quality simulated environment, which will further enhance their success. Through the input of this task force, SUNY will continue to advocate for expanded innovation for this life-saving industry.”