By GREGORY ZELLER //
A unique joint-admissions partnership between a leading State University of New York medical school and a top regional university will significantly expand Long Island’s nursing-education capacity.
Nursing Education Pathway: Train to Retain unites Brooklyn-based SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and SUNY Old Westbury on a doubled-down quest to train a new generation of nursing professionals. The initiative will be energized by a $170,000 award from SUNY’s High Needs Nursing Fund, part of a $1 million SUNY-wide investment strategy designed to support nursing-education programs around the state.
The regional award will be used primarily to bolster a pre-existing transfer partnership that was created to transition SUNY Old Westbury graduates into Downstate’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
Wayne Riley: Stronger partnership.
The six-figure stipend will also help create direct admission pathways from the Accelerated Bachelor of Science program to Downstate’s Master of Science in Education in Nursing Education program – simultaneously bolstering instructional capacity while preparing future nurse educators and ensuring future nursing-education momentum.
The State University’s all-in nursing investment comes at a time when New York is suffering through a sustained nursing shortage, exacerbated by rising healthcare demand and an aging population that requires more complex, often continuous care.
That puts a true premium on Nursing Education Pathway: Train to Retain, according to SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University President Wayne Riley, who noted that “the ability to meet the healthcare needs of our communities depends on a strong and diverse nursing workforce.”
“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,” Riley added.
Equally jazzed is SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams, who heralded a stronger joint-admissions pathway for future nurses and nurse-educators alike.
“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 good news is not limited to Long Island. Across the SUNY system, High Needs Nursing Fund initiatives are projected to create more than 230 additional nursing-education seats.
The Nursing Education Pathway effort is not the first time SUNY Old Westbury has joined forces with Downstate, one of four academic medical centers in the 64-campus SUNY system and the only one based in New York City.
Timothy Sams: Creating opportunities.
The two schools maintain a broad academic partnership providing priority-enrollment pathways for qualified Old Westbury students into various accelerated and graduate programs managed by Downstate and its teaching hospital, University Hospital at Downstate, including programs focused on nursing, physician-assistant students and physical therapy.
This latest collaboration builds on that foundation – while clearing essential new pathways for future nurses, according to Professor Lori Escallier, dean of the College of Nursing at Downstate.
“Downstate and Old Westbury will deepen a partnership that directly addresses workforce demand,” Escallier said in a statement. “As healthcare systems respond to an aging population and increased clinical complexity, we must increase both the number of practicing nurses and the faculty who educate them.
“Creating seamless academic pathways strengthens the pipeline at every level.”
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