Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Strengthen Health Care Workforce

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation (A3076-A/S447-C) into law, strengthening New York's health care workforce by permitting nursing students to complete up to one third of their clinical training through simulation experiences. Overseen by the New York State Education Department, simulation training gives students hands-on experience in clinical environments while allowing nursing education programs to offer more options for clinical education. As New York faces a nursing shortage, expanding simulation experiences can help expedite training and deliver an influx of nurses where they are needed most.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Thank you, Lola. I was asking her how she enjoys being out of government work, but you really haven't left us. So, thank you for the great work that you do representing all the independent colleges.

And I also do want to recognize our sponsors here today, Senator Toby Stavisky for her leadership in championing this cause. And also Donna Lupardo, our sponsor in the Assembly. Thank you very much. Pat Fahy is also the Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. She's been very involved in this as well.

We also have James McDonald, the Acting State Health Commissioner. Give a round of applause to our newest Commissioner. And to Commissioner John King, our Chancellor, and Félix V. Matos Rodríguez also for the work they're doing as well. So we have a lot of people here - and also all the students. Raise your hand if you're a student. Alright. Thank you. Thank you very much. Maria College, I believe.

So glad to be joined today by so many health care professionals, our students, our elected leaders. And as many of us took note of the fact that last week, the World Health Organization declared the COVID health emergency to be over. Finally. But here in New York, we're really still dealing with the aftermath. The effect that is just so pervasive throughout society and the sense of vulnerability that many New Yorkers have, having seen our State hit the hardest, City of New York particularly hit the hardest.

And when it comes to rebuilding our health care workforce, we think about what happened during those really frightening days, weeks, months and into the years, we lost a lot of health care workers. Some succumbed to the illness themselves. Some couldn't take the emotional trauma that they felt when they literally saw more people die in their presence than they had seen perhaps in their entire career. That takes a very human toll on individuals who are on the front lines.

And so, to our health care workers, our doctors and nurses, and all the personnel who were there, we don't diminish the fact that there's still lingering effects of this, even though it may be officially over. And the sacrifices that were made - the long hours, the fear of bringing home a deadly illness to your own children, your own parents, your own spouses. They did it. They did it. And yes, it's three years later, but I will never stop talking about how in awe I am of what they were doing, taking care of the most vulnerable.

And so, you heard from Lola, we do have a nursing shortage. That's not good news. This is a time when we need to have more people, not just from what we saw during the pandemic and the loss of workers there, but also an aging population. And the challenges that people face as they get older and living longer, living a lot longer. And so that brings upon the demand for more health care workers overall.

So, a shortage of 40,000 by the year 2030. I used to think 2030 was a long way off. It is right around the corner, my friend. We're all going to be around for that one. So last year in my State Budget - first time as Governor - I said, "We have a crisis." And I committed that we would continue to do everything we can to help grow the workforce at least by 20 percent more over the next five years.

We invested over $10 billion in a multi-year effort, all hands on deck across the board way to support our health care workers, our institutions. And that meant $4 billion in wages and bonuses for health care workers as just a way to say thank you.

We know what you've gone through. We want you to stay in your profession. We launched the Nurses for Our Future Program to recruit the next generation of workers - over a thousand scholarships, full tuition, to go to people who want to enter this profession and get a two- or four-year degree at one of our institutions.

Also, loan repayments. The cost of education is high. So, we help repay their loans. $2.5 million also - helping to train nurses to go into our underserved communities. And that can be a rural area, it can be a very densely populated city block, but we know where they are and we're trying to get more personnel to go into them.

We also have to modernize the training process, and I have been onsite at a lot of institutions, I've seen what the training looks like, I've asked a lot of questions. And right now, to become a nurse in the State of New York, you have to have clinical placement in a hospital setting.
That's great. Sounds good. I'm sure it worked at one point. It can be tough right now for schools to find the ability to place people, a lot of logistics involved, and it's basically less convenient for people. So yes, it's a good way, but it's not the only way. And I've witnessed everything from a robotic model, I helped deliver a baby when I was at a hospital - I think I'm going to stay right where I am in my career. But it also reminded me that these are so realistic and the experience is basically identical to what it feels like if there was a real person that I was attempting to deliver a baby from. So, we have high-tech, high-quality simulation training available to us now, and experts say it really is just as good as the real thing.

And so, overseen by the Department of Education again, Commissioner Betty Rosa - I thank her for her leadership - it allows students to provide health care on a simulated patient. It offers more opportunities to be even in more intense situations and scenarios that even might not occur in a clinical environment. Think about that. You have everything thrown at you. You may or may not if you're dealing with real people. So, in that sense, it's really an enhanced education and health care professionals, public health leaders have been singing the praises of this for years. And so, this is fantastic. It's a safe place to learn, helps students manage their critical thinking, manage stressful situations, build teamwork, that camaraderie you need when you're on the floor and everything's going off and it's a tense situation.

And so simulated training - now we like to think we're number one in everything in New York, and we are number one in many things - it's available in 31 other states. So, this is not an area where exactly you can say is nation leading. And so here we're saying, "Why not New York? What's taking so long?"

So, we're going to make sure that we prioritize learning without sacrificing patient safety. And this will help clear the log jam, expedite training, and deliver an influx of nurses that are needed right now.

So, that brings us here today. I'm proud to sign a bill into law that will permit nursing professionals to complete at least one third, up to one third of their training, their clinical trainings, through simulation experiences.
And so, I want to thank again, Senator Stavisky and Assemblymember Donna Lupardo for getting this through the legislature and Pat Fahy for her leadership. And as Governor, I'm doing everything I possibly can to support the health care community, and particularly nurses, and trying to lighten the burden and get more of them.
Think about this. The more nurses enter the system, enter the workplace, it takes some of the pressure off those who've been just trying to keep it going during some really tough times when they're just not seeing the number of colleagues on the floor managing the workflow. So, it didn't just, the thing about the pandemic, as I mentioned at the beginning, it didn't just put a spotlight on the need for more personnel, more professionals, it also showed us the importance, the critical importance of state-of-the-art research facilities. And these vaccines, these lifesaving measures weren't just dreamed up anywhere, they were with highly professional organizations - a lot of them are public health labs and finding new treatments for diseases that we have today and those we may not even think about that'll be there in the future.

And so, we are blessed to have this right here in Albany. Many people across the state were not even familiar with the words, 'The Wadsworth Center' until the pandemic hit and we realized that there are people, and I've walked through there during the pandemic and afterward, and I was so in awe of the individuals who were morning, noon and night unsung heroes, people not aware that they were literally developing lifesaving treatments and vaccines and just doing everything they could with all their expertise, pulling together as a team.

And so, we have one of the world's premier public health research facilities right here in Albany, and we're proud of that. But, now is the time to invest even more. If you've been on the campus, you'd say, this is world premiere, state-of-the-art. No, it fails to meet the demands of today and certainly the demands of tomorrow.

So, we're more than doubling the investment approved back in 2018. We're committing $967 million to a total investment of $1.7 billion. These are not inexpensive, but they're essential, and we're going consolidate five facilities onto the lab of the Harriman office campus and be completed by 2030.

And I'm proud to announce that we have found, we've searched the earth for the most talented individual and we found Dr. Leonard Peruski. And I want him to raise his hand and say hello. He's the center's new director.

He led the international laboratory operations at the CDC's Division of Global Health Protection. That's a pretty good resume. Dr. Peruski, we're delighted to welcome you to join the family here in the state of New York and really take us to the next level. And I want to thank again, Commissioner McDonald as well for helping us land the most talented people here as well.

You spent over 60 decades guiding research in over 60 countries. And we are so fortunate to have him right here as well. So that's the good news

And I'm feeling really optimistic about how we're going to tackle these challenges before us. Part of it is investing resources into Wadsworth. The other part is getting more people and getting people excited again about healthcare professions.

And it's taken a beating, a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety. But when you think about the power an individual has, when they have the training, and the ability to go out there and hold someone's hand in their scariest, darkest hour and give them some comfort, that is powerful. To me there is no calling as rewarding as that, as much as it's so hard day in and day out.

And again, to the nurses in the room, the Nurses Association. I want to thank them and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that we keep our promise to New Yorkers. I always promise that we'll protect the health of New Yorkers, protect the health of the economy, and we have been through a lot together.

But with bills like this, it's an important step forward to say, "We're going to do everything we can to get more nurses to help lift the burden from those who are there today," and make sure that every New Yorker has the first-rate quality healthcare they're entitled to. So, thank you very much. And with that, let me bring up our sponsor in the Senate, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky.