Schumer Launches Support for SUNY $23M Initiative to Boost Worker Training & Education in Healthcare, Nursing, and More - Urges Fed Approval of Grant Application to get Thousands of Upstate NYers & Vets on Job-Ready Track in Medical Field

Press Release

Today, on a conference call with reporters, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched his push to secure a $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of a consortium of twenty-nine SUNY Community Colleges, which will aim to train and license Upstate New Yorkers for available jobs in the healthcare field, one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy. Specifically, the federal grant will create worker training and education programs at SUNY community colleges across the state, in partnership with participating hospitals and pharmacies, to help dislocated workers, veterans and typical students gain the skills needed for various healthcare careers, in positions like nursing, Emergency Medical Services, and healthcare information and technology. SUNY's application is part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Program, through which Schumer helped SUNY secure a grant in the Fall of 2012 for advanced manufacturing. Schumer is throwing his full weight behind SUNY's new application, which was just submitted and is backed by NY state agencies, labor and veterans advocacy groups, several industry associations and over 60 business partners in New York.

"Upstate New York's medical field is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, meaning there are more and more nursing, EMT, lab technician and other positions that will need to be filled in coming years. At the same time there are too many New Yorkers, including veterans, that are out of a job. This SUNY initiative will be a powerful antidote for that, and I'm putting my full support behind this application," said Senator Schumer.

Schumer continued, "This grant has the potential to be a game-changer that will connect unemployed New Yorkers with the state's top health employers that are ready to hire skilled workers in their own backyard. Twenty-nine SUNY community colleges and their employer partners will use this grant to focus on equipping workers with the necessary skills and licensing to succeed in the local healthcare industry, in jobs like nursing, emergency medical services, healthcare technology and information tracking. The stats show that hospitals, pharmacies and beyond are ready to hire new workers, and now we must get local workers the skills they need."

The Consortium has created the SUNY Healthcare Education & Leadership Plan for Success (SUNY HELPS) initiative that will focus on strengthening alignment between SUNY and its healthcare partners on a local, regional, and statewide level to better help our communities adjust to the growing healthcare field. The grant funding would aim to prepare over 6,000 Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) eligible workers, plus Gulf War Era -- Post 9/11 veterans, and other adult learners in New York State for new jobs in the allied health and electronic health records fields within the health care sector. Schumer noted that all students would be eligible to participate in this program, but vets and TAA eligible workers are prioritized. The SUNY HELPS will focus on high-demand healthcare career programs in four healthcare career track concentrations: 1) the Nursing (HHA, CNA, LPN, RN, BSN) career track concentration; 2) the Healthcare Information career track concentration; 3) the Emergency Medical Services (EMT, Paramedic) career track concentration; and 4) the Healthcare Technologist, Technician, and Office Assistant career track concentration.

Throughout the four-year grant period, the SUNY HELPS initiative will help unemployed and underemployed individuals who wish to enter the healthcare workforce to gain the skills needed for successful transition. The community colleges will do this by: expanding existing programs to increase the number of students enrolling and earning a certificate and/or degree, enhancing existing programs to reduce the time students take to earn a certificate and/or degree, and designing and offering new programs that address the unmet healthcare employment needs in the State. The main strategies that will be used to meet the goals focus on addressing the needs of a single industry sector and leveraging SUNY's previously funded TAA project for Advanced Manufacturing and its established and existing framework. The initiative will convene employers and stakeholders, align with New York State's Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC), involve health care sector strategies, and use technology and improved and enhanced curriculum to increase capacity and improve learning outcomes, to meet regional need. Schumer noted that this is a competitive grant program, and SUNY HELPS is competing for part of aTAACCT Funding Round III pot of $474.5 million.

On the call, Schumer highlighted the increased number of vacancies in the health care field in Upstate New York as the field grows rapidly, and provided county by county data on the number of eligible workers and vets for this training program. Schumer noted that the following SUNY community colleges, paired with local hospitals and pharmacies, are part of the application: Adirondack, Broome, Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia- Greene, Corning, Dutchess, Erie, Finger Lakes, Fulton-Montgomery, Genesee, Herkimer County, Hudson Valley, Jamestown, Jefferson, Mohawk Valley (MVCC), Monroe, Nassau, Niagara County, North Country, Onondaga, Orange County, Rockland, Schenectady County, Suffolk County, Sullivan County, Tompkins Cortland, Ulster County, and Westchester Community College.

In Upstate New York, there are significant numbers of workers eligible for TAA assistance and unemployed veterans. Schumer noted that all students are eligible to participate in this program, but vets and TAA eligible workers are prioritized.

· In the Capital Region, 1,238 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 3,038 unemployed veterans

· In Western New York, 678 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 3,479 unemployed veterans

· In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, 342 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 3,039 unemployed veterans

· In the Southern Tier, 1,056 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 2,166 unemployed veterans

· In Central New York, 1,049 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 2,367 unemployed veterans

· In the Hudson Valley, 100 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 3,135 unemployed veterans

· In the North Country, 892 are eligible for TAA assistance and we have 1,369 unemployed veterans

According to a March 2012 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, the health care sector of the economy is outpacing the growth realized in 2011, accounting for one out of every five jobs created this year. In fact, the health care sector added 296,000 jobs nationally in 2011, 6% of which were in New York State. BLS predicted that more than 712,000 nursing positions will be created by 2020, which would increase the size of the RN workforce by 26%. In New York, the State Dept. of Labor broke down the number of additional positions, at minimum, in nursing lab tech positions, and emergency medical technicians and paramedics that are expected to be needed by 2020 in the region:

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"This grant to the SUNY Consortium will address the glaring need for more well-trained healthcare professionals in Upstate New York, while putting current students, dislocated workers and veterans on a path to employment. SUNY is a national leader in higher education, and I will fight tooth and nail to get them this grant and help keep them at the front of the pack for years to come," added Schumer.

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