Reported by: Conor Halton
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Chancellor Malatras announces a $3 million nursing emergency training fund
Jim Malatras recently announced a three million dollar emergency fund that will allow more students to enroll in nursing degree programs across the SUNY and CUNY system.
This comes as nursing shortages reach all time highs across New York State, and the need for healthcare workers becomes more prevalent. The fund will expand nursing programs on campuses throughout the state, and train hundreds of prospective healthcare workers.
“You need 11 million more nurses to meet the demand in the United States of America. At the current rate we’re going, we’re going to be short 40 thousand nurses,” Jim Malatras, the SUNY Chancellor said after analyzing statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor.
SUNY Chancellor, Jim Malatras Engaged at the SUNY Cayuga School of Nursing. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary of SUNY. The U.S. Bureau of Labor also projected that employment opportunities for nurses are expected to grow at a rate of 15%. This is much faster than any other occupation through 2026.
Malatras said the fund is going to fill in the gaps, coming at a time when U.S. nursing programs are turning away applicants, now reaching full capacity, and unable to continue proper training.
“We need to hire more instructors, one of the things we’re finding out is there’s not enough nursing instructors to actually teach these programs,” Malatras added.
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras engaged at the SUNY Orange nursing program. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary for SUNY. In addition to this initiative, Governor Kathy Hochul also stepped in, announcing a new scholarship program called “Nurses for our Future.” That will cover tuition for over one thousand new registered nurses.
For SUNY Oswego, while there is no accredited nursing program for students on campus, Malatras explained that the program is going to act as a “pipeline” for students to get involved in healthcare if interested.
“There’s all sorts of associated programs, I know there’s some allied health programs that Oswego has as a transition to get into healthcare,” Malatras began. He said it’s colleges like Oswego that can benefit students, and serve as a direct path into healthcare. “It’s an all hands on deck thing, we want to leverage every part of this system that we have and make it a pipeline where it’s appropriate.”
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras engaged at the SUNY Orange nursing program. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary of SUNY. As things start slowly returning to normal amid the pandemic, Malatras also said the SUNY system is working hard to combat the pandemic in a number of ways. Since the vaccine mandate was set in place in September, and now booster shots have been made available to adults, Malatras said schools like Oswego may see more relaxed restrictions come this spring.
“It’s been great to be back up at Oswego this semester, it’s such a different feeling,” Malatras said. “It’s great to go to an ice hockey game right now, and it’s great to see friends on-campus, it’s great to see a lecture in person, it’s great to see a musical performance, and we want to keep that up.”
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Family Weekend at SUNY Oswego
Oswego, NY — With many Oswego students coming to Oswego from different parts of New York and other states, events like Friends and Family Weekend are a good way for residents to have their home come to them, and for their families to see their home away from home.
As a celebrated tradition at SUNY Oswego, students are able to reunite with loved ones, and show them what the Oswego community has to offer.
For some students, it is an exciting way to show their family the accomplishments they’ve made so far. Students Anyissel Hernandez and Breanna Walker have done exactly that.
“I really miss them so when they come here I feel like supported and everything. Like it’s just nice to see them, hang out with them, just to see how I’m doing,” said Hernandez.
As for the family and friends, it’s a good way to see how their student has settled in to SUNY Oswego, as well as becoming familiar with the campus and town.
One family, the Minor, Callender, and Hechanova family, a blended family from New York City were excited to see some Oswego favorites.
“We checked out the lake, the barbershop, yeah. Walmart,” said the family.
One of the activities for the weekend, the Oswego Men’s Hockey Exhibition Game against Nazareth.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes, we are going to check the hockey game out,” the family said.
A two-decade tradition, Friends and Family Weekend opens up opportunities not only for students, but for those who are unfamiliar with the town of Oswego.
Between learning about Oswego staples and the exciting hockey games, for one weekend, the Oswego communities grows just a little bit bigger.
“Go Lakers!”
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Seniors Carry Lakers to Win
The Oswego State men’s basketball team defeated Geneseo by a final score of 65-58 on Saturday. With the win, the Lakers finish the regular season with a 13-2 overall record and 10-8 conference record. The Knights fall to 14-11 on the season.
On his senior day, Josh Ivey gave Oswego the start they were looking for. Ivey scored 11 of the team’s first 14 points and played a pivotal role as the Lakers took a eight point lead into halftime. Geneseo fought back in the second half though as they went on a 15-4 run to erase the deficit. It would be short lived as Jamir Ferebee led Oswego on a 11-0 run of their own to secure the victory.
The seniors were the star performers for the Lakers as Ivey had a career high 22 points and six rebounds. Ian Schupp (13) and Ferebee (10) also reached double-figures in points.
Oswego and Geneseo will meet again on Tuesday in Geneseo at 7 pm. The winner of the contest will move on to the second round of the SUNYAC Championship.
