A combination of grants and a program expansion will help grow the next class of SUNY Brockport nursing students.
In February, SUNY Chancellor John B. King announced that $4.4 million would be awarded to SUNY campuses through the High Needs Nursing Fund. Brockport was alongside the 29 other SUNY campuses to receive this funding.
The grant will be used to “equip campuses with the necessary tools, training, and resources to modernize and expand simulation experiences for students” according to the SUNY website. As of 2023, in New York, nursing students can complete up to one third of their clinical training through simulation experiences.
“Allowing up to one-third of clinical training to be simulation based will help address New York’s nursing shortage, while exposing students to a valuable, hands-on learning experience.” Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said at the time.
Outside of further funding, SUNY Brockport will experience changes to the School of Nursing onsite.
During his visit to Brockport in April, King announced a $15 million renovation of Hartwell Hall that will double the amount of space available to Brockport nursing students.
King joined SUNY Brockport president Heidi Macphearson and Dean of the School of Nursing Kathleen Peterson on a tour of the construction site. The renovation will create space for new offices, laboratories and simulation rooms for the School of Nursing. Construction is expected to conclude in the fall of 2027.
For Peterson, seeing more simulation rooms added to the program is a welcome addition.
“What we’ve been able to do here is increase the amount of simulation rooms,” Peterson said. “When a student is in a sim room, they are the nurse – there’s no faculty. It makes them career ready.”
This expansion comes as a response to Governor Hochul’s goal of increasing New York’s healthcare workforce by 20 percent.
“This expansion of SUNY Brockport’s School of Nursing will make it possible for more New Yorkers to access a world-class nursing education, so they can help grow New York State’s health care workforce.” King said. “SUNY remains dedicated to continuing to invest in nursing education at our colleges, and to achieving Governor Hochul’s goal of increasing the number of high-skilled health care workers in the state.”
These updates to the program will allow Brockport to admit an additional 10 students to the nursing program every year for the next three years, effectively changing the incoming class of students from 80 to 110. The change is exciting not only for the School of Nursing, but also for the college as a whole.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without Kathy,” Macphearson said. “Kathy has been the driving force and the vision to see what we can do.”
