A new State University of New York and City University of New York Scholarship Program called the Nurses For Our Future Scholarship will cover tuition for 1,000 new healthcare workers to help drive interest for registered nursing students to attend SUNY and CUNY.

The program comes in an effort to help address the shortage in healthcare and lack of workers in hospitals around the state.

“Just a year ago, we were celebrating our healthcare workers as the heroes they are, and the pandemic has shown us that we cannot afford a labor shortage in the healthcare industry,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul. “I’m proud to announce our new Nurses For Our Future Scholarship as an important step to train more nurses and bring them into our healthcare system. SUNY and CUNY scholarships move us toward a more prosperous and equal New York, by working to make sure every New Yorker has access to training programs, one-, two-, and four-year degrees, community college; SUNY and CUNY should be the pathway to the middle class.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have been facing a labor shortage and an influx of patients. This scholarship program is designed to recruit and retrain nursing and health care professionals to serve in NYSRNs which are most in need. There are currently more than 9,300 openings for Registered Nurses in New York State. The Nurses For Our Future Scholarship will mean 1,000 more students can enter a nursing program in either SUNY or CUNY. Students will be able to complete their programs with a flexible schedule, either part-time or full-time.