Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees Tour SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s Nursing Simulation Labs
September 15, 2026
Part of New York State Efforts to Increase Nursing Capacity and Address the Healthcare Staffing Shortage
Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees also Highlighted Significant New York State Investment in SUNY Downstate University Hospital
Brooklyn, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees today toured the renovated facilities of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University's nursing simulation labs, which expand nursing training opportunities to help address the healthcare staffing shortage in New York State. During the visit, Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees also highlighted SUNY Downstate Hospital's planned renovations that are part of Governor Kathy Hochul's $1.1 billion modernization project to bolster infrastructure and enhance access to high-quality healthcare.
"SUNY Downstate is a pillar of its community that offers an excellent education and life-saving care to families across the region," said SUNY Chancellor King. "With the new nursing simulation capacity and large-scale renovations in design, enabled by significant investment from Governor Hochul, the hospital is expanding state-of-the-art infrastructure that provides New Yorkers with the extraordinary and compassionate medical care they deserve."
SUNY Trustee and Chair of the Academic Medical Centers and Hospitals Committee Eric Corngold said, "Through continued investment from Governor Hochul and the State Legislature, SUNY is an essential pillar in New York State’s healthcare sector, providing a high-quality education and medical care to the surrounding community. The nursing simulation labs at SUNY Downstate build on its long-standing legacy, ensuring that it continues to provide excellent care for generations to come."
SUNY Downstate President Wayne J. Riley, M.D., said, "Chancellor King and the SUNY Board of Trustees saw firsthand the breadth of Downstate’s work, from the advanced clinical training taking place in our state-of-the-art nursing simulation laboratory to the site where a new hospital annex will be built. Governor Hochul’s $1.1 billion investment affirms Downstate’s essential role in New York’s healthcare infrastructure and will expand clinical capacity, modernize the patient-care environment, and position us for long-term excellence in healthcare education, patient care, and research."
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation in 2023 enabling nursing students to complete one third of their clinical training through high-quality simulation. The nursing simulation labs at SUNY Downstate University are part of SUNY’s ongoing efforts to provide high-quality nursing education and simulation-based training, as well as meet Governor Hochul’s goal of increasing the health care workforce in New York State by 20 percent.
While the Board of Trustees met for their first fall meeting, they also had the opportunity to review SUNY Downstate Hospital's renovation plans and highlighted the nearly completed demolition of the parking garage to make way for the new hospital annex. The modernization project was based on the Downstate Community Advisory Board (DCAB) recommendations, which were announced by Governor Hochul in June 2025 as part of a $1.1 billion State commitment.
The proposal from the advisory board included:
- Retaining all current inpatient and outpatient services, including maternity and kidney transplant services;
- Converting all double occupancy rooms to private rooms with showers and add additional rooms, resulting in 225 operational beds (with the goal of increasing the current 165 average daily census);
- Modernizing and expanding the emergency department;
- Establishing and renovating dedicated inpatient specialty units for cardiology, oncology, and orthopedics;
- Building a new hospital annex, including a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center that expands services in oncology and cardiology;
- Addressing the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure issues that have resulted in repeated system failures;
- Improving leadership and operations to achieve greater operational sustainability.
SUNY has led an effort to expand nursing opportunities and address the health care staffing shortage in New York State. Over three consecutive years, SUNY announced over $4.4 million in awards from the High Needs Nursing Fund to equip campuses with the tools, training, and resources to expand simulation-based education in SUNY nursing programs and in February SUNY announced the expansion of the EOP Scholars Program to support students in nursing and teaching degree programs focused on shortage areas. In December 2025, SUNY announced a $1 million investment from the High Needs Nursing Fund to expand academic pathways to nursing careers, including nearly $170,000 awarded to SUNY Downstate to partner with SUNY Old Westbury to expand seamless transfer into Downstate's Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program as well as offer direct and contingent admission into the Downstate MSEd Nursing Education program.
In May 2025, Governor Hochul announced a $62 million investment to establish exemplar SUNY nursing simulation centers at the State University of New York at Buffalo, SUNY Canton, and State University of New York at Stony Brook. To further support simulation-based learning in the SUNY System, SUNY also announced the second cohort of the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship to help advance simulation-based education within SUNY's nursing licensure programs, building on the work of the first cohort, which included SUNY Downstate faculty member Marie-Claire Roberts, Ph.D., Downstate Simulation Center Executive Director. Governor Hochul's SUNY Reconnect program also funds nursing and allied health fields for eligible adult learners to increase the number of health care workers in New York State, and in her 2026 State of the State Agenda, Governor Hochul proposed expanding SUNY Reconnect to include adults attaining a nursing degree, even if they have already earned a college degree in a different field, to strengthen the state's nursing workforce.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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