Gov. Hochul Seeks to Rebuild Healthcare Workforce with Bonuses, Free Tuition, and Stipends

By Yehudit Garmaise

Health care is a great field for which to pursue training right now because New York is in the midst of a staffing crisis that started even before the pandemic, Gov. Kathy Hochul said today at a press conference.

“We need your help today, “Gov. Hochul said at a hospital in the Bronx. “We hope to be more independent next time [there is a public health care emergency] because we are going to rebuild this workforce and make it stronger, make it more resilient to any health care crises that come our way.”

Even before the pandemic, in 2018, a study showed, the governor said, “that if we continued the path we were on, a health care staffing shortage would leave 32% of the state’s healthcare needs unmet."

Three years and a pandemic later, and “we have an overburdened health care situation that has spiraled out of control,” said Gov. Hochul, who added that she wants rebuild the health care industry by providing more financial support to the state’s healthcare workers, their hospitals, and other facilities.

In her budget for 2023, Gov. Hochul said New York is investing $10 billion: “the largest investment in health care industry in our state’s history, to help support and sustain this industry: the people, the places,” she said. 

In particular, the governor said she wants to see the New York’s health care workforce increase by more than 20% in the next five years. 

First, the governor said, “We have to stop the hemorrhaging of current health care workers. They are still leaving. They are exhausted.

“We can’t just say, ‘We owe you a debt of gratitude,’ as nice as that sounds. We also have to repay the debt we owe.”

Gov. Hochul is putting her money where her mouth is: by investing more than $4 billion in bonuses and wages for health care workers, as well as retention bonuses of up to $3,000 for our direct care workers and health care workers who make less than $100,000.

Secondly, the governor wants to attract doctors and nurses in other states “to make their homes here," she said. “We want them to come here, but there are many bureaucratic barriers, so we are going to make it easier for them [by allowing them to use their existing licenses.]”

The governor also wants to bring in more students to healthcare fields by providing free tuition, stipends, and bonuses for graduates who remain to work in New York. 

Gov. Hochul also designated another $1.6 billion to rebuild the hospitals, nursing homes, and medical facilities that need money after they were “just crushed by this pandemic,” she said.

“We need to have more people in the system, as well as to better support our existing institutions,” Gov. Hochul said.