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SUNY Old Westbury is expanding its work with SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, which secured nearly $170,000 through the State University of New York’s High Needs Nursing Fund.
The award is part of a nearly $1 million investment across SUNY, intended to support campus partnerships that increase nursing program capacity, strengthen transfer pathways and increase available nursing seats throughout the state.
“This funding strengthens a pathway for future nurses and nurse educators,” Timothy Sams, president of SUNY Old Westbury, said in a news release about the partnership.
The investment comes at a time when New York is experiencing ongoing nursing shortages, rising healthcare demand and the needs of an aging population requiring more complex and continuous care. Across the SUNY system, High Needs Nursing Fund initiatives are projected to create or add more than 230 nursing seats statewide.
Downstate and Old Westbury will use the funding to advance their joint initiative, “Nursing Education Pathway: Train to Retain,” strengthening an existing transfer partnership to allow more Old Westbury graduates to enter Downstate’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
The initiative also establishes direct and contingent admission pathways from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to the Master of Science in Education in Nursing Education program, to prepare nurse educators and expand instructional capacity.
“The ability to meet the healthcare needs of our communities depends on a strong and diverse nursing workforce,” Dr. Wayne Riley, president of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, said in the news release. “This award allows us to expand access to nursing education, create clear academic pathways that move students into high-demand nursing careers, and strengthen our partnership with Old Westbury.”
“By enabling more students to transition from our undergraduate programs into Downstate’s accelerated nursing degree and then into its master’s program in nursing education, we are creating opportunities for students to advance into critical healthcare roles while strengthening the workforce,” Sams said.
The institutions maintain a broader academic partnership that provides priority enrollment pathways for qualified Old Westbury students into Downstate’s accelerated and graduate programs in nursing, physician assistant studies and physical therapy. The nursing education award is designed to build on that partnership and support ongoing workforce development efforts.
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Adina Genn
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