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City & State New York

Only two-thirds of licensed registered nurses are active in New York State, according to a new study released at Mother Cabrini Foundation’s Healthier Communities, Healthier People Summit Wednesday.

…According to Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the School of Public Health at SUNY Albany, preceptors are essential to guiding registered nurses into the field.

“From our study, we learned that nurse residency programs are successful because they have experienced nurses serving as preceptors to mentor new nurses,” Moore said. “As older nurses exit from patient care, the facilities have less experienced nurses to draw from, which makes it a lot harder, not just to run the residency programs, but also to just acclimate new graduates to units.”

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City & State New York

A new report addressing challenges to statewide registered nursing recruitment and retention will be released at the Healthier Communities, Healthier People summit on Wednesday, hosted by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation at the Museum of the City of New York and presented by City & State.

The study, prepared by Mother Cabrini in partnership with the University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies, will detail leading causes of nursing shortages and potential strategies to be implemented by New York state hospitals. Based on interviews and focus groups with chief nursing executives and human resource experts hailing from 60 hospitals, the analysis will identify the most promising solutions to address the shortage.

“This study is further evidence of the pervasive RN shortages and workplace culture challenges that are urgently impacting all aspects of health systems in New York – from staff experience and patient outcomes to the sustainability of hospitals,” said Jean Moore, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies. “Conducting this research is necessary to identify key challenges and map out both short and long-term solutions that will support our RN workforce for years to come.”

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Spectrum News

A new report shows shortages continue for a variety of professions across all health care settings which was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the pandemic began to ease, I think people thought, well OK, shortages should ease right, and they haven’t,” said Jean Moore, who leads the Center for Health Workforce Studies.

That was reflected in an annual report compiled by the University at Albany’s CHWS studies from a variety of data sources.

“If you’re a provider trying to understand the workforce, you’re having to go all these different places,” program manager Robert Martiniano said. “So, we want to put all in one place.

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Times Union

It is no secret that New York is facing an outmigration crisis. According to a report from the Empire Center for Public Policy, New York leads the nation in population decline. This decline is set to have disastrous effects on the state’s economy.

New York has over 470,000 open jobs across all sectors. The health care industry is still reeling from the pandemic, when 20% of all health care workers left the field. The number of jobs available in that field is outpacing the number of people available to fill them. According to a report from the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Albany, there are an estimated 14,000 annual job openings for registered nurses alone.

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American Medical Association

No matter if a state supports physician-led care or allows nurse practitioners to care for patients without any physician involvement immediately after graduation, the answer is the same.

Data just doesn’t support the argument that changing laws to allow nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision increases access to health care for patients in rural and other areas underserved by limited access to health care…

…Yet research shows that, in addition to setting up practice in the same geographic locations as physicians, many nurse practitioners also are opting to pursue non-primary care specialties.

For example, the Oregon Center for Nursing found that just 25% of nurse practitioners practiced in primary care. And a study by researchers from the State University of New York, Albany, School of Public Health Center of Health Workforce Studies found that newly graduated nurse practitioners in the Empire State were more likely to go into a specialty or subspecialty than they were to go into primary care.

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Academy Health

The health workforce is a vital component of the country’s health care delivery system. Efforts to expand access to care, improve the quality of care, or address health disparities depend on the availability of a diverse, well-trained, and adequately sized health workforce. Providers have faced the ongoing challenge of health workforce shortages, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and persists today.

We were delighted to receive the largest number of abstract submissions for the 2024 Annual Research Meeting in the past four years, reflecting the increasing importance and urgency of health workforce issues not only within the health care system but also in society as a whole. This year, we are excited about the diverse lineup of health workforce theme panels, podium presentations, and posters. These sessions will create inspiring and collaborative spaces for engaging in thought-provoking discussions.

Here are some sneak peeks of what you can expect from this year’s health workforce theme sessions:

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National Partnership for Dental Therapy

Reports indicate an estimated 11% reduction in national dental practice capacity caused by the shortage of dental assistants and dental hygienists in 2022, while the COVID-19 pandemic led to an approximate 8% decrease in dental hygienist employment. Furthermore, enrollment across the United States in dental assisting programs has faced a decrease since 2015 and research indicates that 1/3 of the dental assistant and dental hygienist workforce expect to retire in five years or less. As we work to authorize and implement dental therapists across the states, it is important to ensure there is a supportive working environment for them as well as other dental professionals.

…Some of the main factors that contribute to dental assistants’ and dental hygienists’ satisfaction are being valued, having opportunities to advance in their professional career, and having good communication with the team and with their supervisors. Jean Moore, DrPH, FAAN, Director of Center for Health Workforce Studies affirmed that similar research has corroborated that workforce issues are at least partly related to workplace culture. Their research shows that staff satisfaction is associated with being treated as partners, as people who have something to contribute, rather than as employees who merely receive orders.

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University at Albany

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 28, 2024) — Jean Moore is a research assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior and serves as the director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) at the School of Public Health. Moore has extensively studied health workforce supply, demand and distribution and more recently investigated pandemic impacts on the health workforce. She has also studied health professions regulation and its impact on access to care.

Established in 1996, the Center for Health Workforce Studies conducts research to support and promote health workforce planning and policymaking at local, state and national levels. It operates two of only nine federally-funded health workforce research centers in the U.S. and is the only Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-sponsored center with a unique focus on the oral health workforce.

CHWS shares its research findings with policymakers, planners, and health, professional and educational organizations to address issues related to the supply, demand, distribution and utilization of health workers.

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Democrat and Chronicle

James Tompkins abandoned his primary care search a year ago, as he faced months-long waits for a doctor visit within massive health systems seemingly designed to frustrate and mistreat New Yorkers.

Since then, the now 54-year-old Poughkeepsie man has passed tense months trying to dodge illness. At times, he turned to urgent cares for his minor medical needs, while leaving critical gaps in his overall health care.

His medical saga was among more than two dozen others that New Yorkers shared in response to USA TODAY Network New York coverage of the negative impacts of health care mergers…

…Today, a growing number of primary care doctors must become hospitalists caring for inpatients to make a living. It is a trend ignited by profit-driven health systems that favor lucrative specialty care and surgeries over community-based preventive medicine, according to University at Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies experts and data.

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7 News WKBW

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — With a lack of mental health providers in underserved communities across the state, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is promoting bipartisan legislation to resolve the problem.

Flunder tells me Senator Gillibrand’s support for bipartisan legislation to expand The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act, would offer student loan forgiveness to encourage mental health professionals to work in underserved communities.

“This field is already an expensive field. This is something that you constantly have to pour finances into,” Flunder explained.
 
“Basically, within six years all your student loans would be repaid. If you give six years of service in an underserved area,” described Gillibrand…

…Center for Health Workforce Studies says by the year 2030, New York is projecting a shortfall of as many as 2,600 psychiatrists, but if this bill is approved. It could have quick results.

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