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New Nurses Arrive To Fill Shortage — And Face COVID

As an emergency room nurse, easy days are rare. Caring for several patients at once, running the floor and trying to keep a cool head is part of the daily routine. When Kaitlyn Auffhammer began nursing school in fall 2019, she could never have guessed how much the world would need nurses after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our second semester was remote. Our clinicals were online. We definitely lost that hands-on experience,” Auffhammer said. In 2021, she graduated from Tompkins Cortland Community College’s nursing program, which partnered with Guthrie Cortland Medical ...

Hochul Lifts School Face Mask Policy

Starting Wednesday, the statewide school mask requirement is being lifted. Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement Sunday while noting a tremendous downward trend in COVID-19 cases. On Jan. 10, Hochul said New York state had a COVID test positivity rate of 23.2%. As of Saturday, that figure ...

Heritage Seeks ‘Talent From Within’ To Bolster Staff

GERRY — Heritage Ministries has focused inward when it comes to bolstering its nursing staff. And the approach appears to be working, said Danielle Bozich, Heritage vice president of human resources. A program focusing on nurse aide training or certified nursing assistants began last year. ...

Pandemic Fears Are Fading Along With Omicron: AP-NORC Poll

Omicron is fading away, and so are Americans' worries about COVID-19. As coronavirus pandemic case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to plummet, fewer people now than in January say they are concerned that they will be infected after the rise and fall of the wildly contagious ...

Eviction Moratorium Extension Proposed

Legislation to extend the state’s residential foreclosure moratorium until May 15 has been proposed in the state Senate. Sen. Brian Kavanaugh, D-New York City, introduced S.8397 on Tuesday for those who own 10 or fewer homes. The legislation has been referred to the Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee. New York’s eviction moratorium had paused most evictions until Jan. 15, except in cases in which landlords claimed tenants were damaging property or becoming a safety hazard. It covered hundreds of thousands of homeowners and commercial and residential ...

Study: Stress Levels Rise For Those In College

ALBANY — Rising cases of mental illness among college students have fueled academic failures, absenteeism, self-harm and legal troubles for students, the Mental Health Association in New York State said in a new report this week. The nonprofit advocate for mental health programs recommended a “literacy” campaign aimed at students and staffers at campuses across the state, suggesting such an effort could help with necessary interventions and offer guidance to those gripped by depression. The association also called for “whole health parity,” so that mental health needs can be ...