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Part of a $12 million fund Sen. Chuck Schumer secured will go toward the creation of a hospital simulation and education training center at Onondaga Community College as part of an investment in training for healthcare workers in central New York.

Schumer announced in a press release that the center will feature more advanced technology in its resources, like virtual reality learning and simulated drug dispensaries. The center will be focused on training medical students to be well-equipped in entering the workforce. Amid a shortage of healthcare workers, students on the medical track at Syracuse University said they hope the funding can benefit the whole of central New York.

Kevin Guo, an SU sophomore and undergraduate researcher majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience, said he is optimistic about the funding’s impacts on the healthcare worker shortage. He said the funding is an opportunity to make an intensive education in healthcare accessible to students in central New York.

“I feel, due to the fact that the training center will be affiliated through OCC, it will give many students an affordable opportunity to engage in a very high-tech, hands-on learning experience that would be very beneficial for them and prepare them for the medical field,” Guo said.

Schumer emphasized the importance of starting locally in efforts to remedy the broader worker shortage. He said he hopes the funding will lead to further expansion and more enrollment from students, saying the funding will give the CNY region the “shot in the arm it needs” in order to address shortages in healthcare workers.

In an address alongside other speakers — including Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and OCC President Dr. Warren Hilton — at OCC’s Nursing suite in Ferrante Hall, Schumer highlighted the college’s position to create progress.

“I’m especially proud that Onondaga Community College is part of this. It’s just what the doctor ordered to address our healthcare worker shortage,” Schumer said. “We’re short nurses, we’re short health care workers, and now Onondaga Community College will be able to help fill this gap which will benefit all of us.”

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Apart from the emphasis on creating better facilities to train the next generation of healthcare workers, the rest of the allocated money is distributed among different medical centers, including Cortland County Mental Health Clinic, Valley Health Services, Oneida Health Systems, Auburn Community Hospital Cancer Center, Crouse Health and SUNY Upstate Medical Center. Due to the CNY region having the highest suicide and self-harm rates in New York state, Upstate Medical is receiving $1.1 million to fund its Suicide Prevention Center.

Sophomore Alekhya Rajasekaran, a biotech major on the pre-medical track at SU and an Upstate Medical undergraduate researcher, said the grant and the plans for the center demonstrate lawmakers trending in the right direction. She said the funding takes the correct approach to helping decrease the number of people struggling with healthcare.

“A great percentage of community college students are trying to save money and get an education at the same time,” Rajasekaran said. “Unfortunately, in many underfunded areas, community college funding is limited, especially when it’s for health centers in a hospital area. Providing a health training center at OCC will provide those students with the more comprehensive, hands-on education that they deserve.”

Published on January 18, 2023 at 11:49 pm