Hospitals across the state are set to receive $51 million to recruit and retain nurses as the state continues to battle a persistent nursing shortage.
The grant money, announced Wednesday by the Midtown-based charitable group Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, will flow to 13 hospitals to address burnout and train new nurses entering the workforce. Hospitals that receive grants can use the funds to pursue certificates deeming them nursing-friendly workplaces, which prioritize clinician and patient safety and professional development, as well as to establish or expand training programs for new graduates.
Local hospitals, including Montefiore Medical Center, St. Barnabas Hospital, Calvary Hospital, St. John’s Riverside Hospital and Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital on Long Island, are set to receive between $1 and $5 million annually for the next five years, according to the foundation. Grants to all 13 hospitals are expected to support 6,500 nurses statewide who provide medical services to more than 7 million patients.
The funding is targeted to help safety-net hospitals that serve a high proportion of Medicaid patients or individuals without coverage, according to Daniel Frascella, chief programs and grants officer at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
State officials and private foundations have poured money into the state’s nursing workforce to combat the existing shortage, which the state estimates will reach 40,000 by 2030. Experienced nurses left their jobs in droves after the pandemic because of stressful working conditions and inadequate staffing, leaving hospitals with a higher proportion of new grads and mid-career clinicians. In 2023, 50% of the state’s nursing workforce was under the age of 40, indicating that the nursing workforce is getting younger, according to a report released last July by the Center for Health Workforce Studies in Albany.
The new funding aims to help hospitals retain existing nurses and encourage early-career clinicians to stay in the profession long-term. Awardees can use the money to pursue two types of certificates through the American Nursing Credentialing Center, which designate hospitals as workplaces that foster nurse development.
The awards will also support hospitals to create or expand nurse residency programs, which provide mentorship and on-the-job training to early-career clinicians, as well as virtual nursing programs that allow experienced nurses to work remotely so they can guide front-line clinicians and take on their administrative tasks.
The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation was formed in 2018 by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Catholic Diocesan Bishops of New York, after the church sold its nonprofit health plan Fidelis to publicly traded insurance company Centene Corp. for $3.75 billion.
