Opinion: Training the future health care workforce today

New York faces a historic demographic shift. According to a recent report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York City’s 65-and-older population reached 1.43 million in 2023 – a 53% increase from 2000, growing almost 17 times faster than the city’s total population. In Manhattan and Queens, nearly 20% of residents are over 65 years old. Statewide, nearly 3.5 million residents are now over the age of 65, the largest share in New York’s history. 

To care for our older New Yorkers, we need to invest in programs that support their health and well-being. Yet facilities tasked with caring for them can’t find enough workers. Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities are scrambling to fill shifts, fighting an uphill battle against an industry-wide staffing shortage. If the state doesn’t act, things will only get worse.

Right now, there are 13,000 unfilled Certified Nursing Assistant positions across the state, including more than 5,000 in New York City alone. By 2030, that number will climb even higher – New York state will need at least 15,000 more certified nursing assistants, including 6,000 in the five boroughs. Certified nursing assistants provide vital care to their patients and critical support to the nurses they work with. Without immediate action, hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers will be stretched even thinner, leaving patients without the care they not only need, but deserve.

The solution is clear: workforce development programs that create health care career paths for young people from underserved communities. These programs solve two pressing challenges at once – providing vital care for older adults while creating economic opportunity for the next generation of New Yorkers.

That’s why we’re strong advocates for The New Jewish Home’s SkillSpring initiative, a proven workforce program that has already trained over 1,300 young adults from underserved communities to become certified nursing assistants. It’s an efficient, effective model: a 14-week, full-time program that blends hands-on clinical training with classroom instruction and wraparound support services like child care, ensuring that graduates are prepared to care for their patients on day one. 

Thanks to state funding, SkillSpring has expanded to three of the five boroughs, partnering with key health systems like Hebrew Home at Riverdale by RiverSpring Living in the Bronx and Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care in Brooklyn, as well as ArchCare’s Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center and MJHS Health System’s Isabella Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care in Manhattan. But we’re still far from meeting the state’s needs.

With a $2.5 million investment in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, SkillSpring could expand to all five boroughs, launching new cohorts in two skilled nursing facilities per borough. The impact would be immediate: 333 new certified nursing assistants credentialed annually. Within the first grant period alone, 90 new learners would be enrolled, directly addressing our staffing crisis in real time.

But this isn’t just about filling open jobs. It’s also about economic mobility. SkillSpring serves young adults who face systemic barriers to opportunity. All of its participants are from low-income households and 42% have experienced homelessness. Those who receive their Certified Nursing Assistant certification are guaranteed employment in good union jobs, with an average starting pay at approximately $21 per hour – that’s $10,000 more per year than those working full-time at minimum wage jobs.

The economic impact for New York is undeniable. By reducing reliance on public benefits, SkillSpring saves the state $6.9 million annually. Certified nursing assistant salaries generate $5.47 million in additional economic activity. The program improves health care outcomes while reducing costly staff turnover in a field where retention is notoriously challenging.

This is what a sustainable, scalable workforce solution looks like. Because the program is fully funded through a mix of government grants, private support and contributions from skilled nursing facilities, there’s zero financial barrier to entry for participants.

The bottom line is that SkillSpring works. Now lawmakers have a choice: they can either invest in a proven program that supports our older adults by strengthening New York’s health care system and creating good-paying jobs – or they can let the crisis deepen, forcing hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers to operate with even fewer workers.

This is the moment to act. New York’s health care system – and the growing number of older adults who rely on it – can’t afford to wait.