BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- State Senator Dan Stec was on hand as St. Lawrence Health officials opened a new $80 million regional care pavilion at Canton-Potsdam Hospital but staffing may be difficult unless a state law is changed.

During the county legislature's full board meeting on Oct. 7, Stec commented that the four story building, 108,000-square-foot expansion project will be essential for the North Country.

But the Compact Nursing Bill is still hung up in the State Assembly and Senate, making it difficult for nurses from other states to come work in New York.

Legislator Rita Curran raised concerns with the extended delay in passing the bills, commenting that they would greatly benefit healthcare facilities in the region.

If passed, the bills would enact a nurse licensure compact that would allow licensing for registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses to be recognized by party states even if such license was issued by another state.

That means nurses coming from other states would not have to endure a lengthy and costly application process to work in New York.

"Do you see anything coming forward? As you know we have a really hard time staffing hospitals in this state," she asked Stec.

Curran commented that the process is "ridiculous" for out-of-state nurses and costs more to obtain a license as an out-of-state nurse.

"A compact license would give us a lot in terms of being able to staff our facilities," Curran said.

But Stec said bills like the Compact License Bill sometimes "sit for years before they're acted on."

"Sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief when some bills aren't brought up but other times we know bills, such as this one, would make a world of difference for everyone," Stec said.

Stec said the licensing bill, among others, have plagued the healthcare industry throughout the state.

Another such issue is Medicaid reimbursement rates, which still remain critically low, he said.

Bills currently sit with the state legislature to address those widespread issues but with the state legislature out of session, relief won't come anytime soon.

"There's a lot of good legislation out there that, for the life of me, I don't know why it's still sitting there," Stec said.

Stec touched on the efforts of many local colleges, including Clarkson University and SUNY Canton, which are focused on producing Physician Assistants and Registered Nurses as fast as they can.

Many schools, from private to state run institutions, have made significant shifts in recent years to add more healthcare training opportunities.

But those efforts are not enough to bridge the gap in terms of staffing, Stec said.

"Community colleges and SUNY Plattsburgh and Canton are pumping out nurses as fast as they can," Stec said.

Another major issue is a lack of educators to train the next generation of nurses and physicians as well, Stec said.

In many cases, nurses make twice as much money in a clinical setting compared to an educational institution, Stec said.

"No one wants to teach nursing right now," Stec said.

Curran said numbers are still down for hospitals throughout the state, exacerbating an already serious issue.

"If you're a nurse and making good money, God bless you, I understand why you want to do it," Stec said.

Curran said the cost of hiring traveling nurses also affects the bottom line for patients as well, with travel nurses making 2.5 times more than a local nurse.

"We could add another nurse and a half per travel nurse if we are able to hire locally," Curran said.

Stec said he wanted to continue to push the issue in the next legislative session but noted it may be an uphill battle at the moment.

"There's a lot of really good legislation that's tied up in Albany. Unfortunately, I don't get to set the agenda as to what is voted on," Stec said.

Stec said more needs to be done to address the nursing shortage. He suggested constituents continue to reach out to representatives or to write to Governor Hochul's office to request a second look at the legislation in question.

"I wish I had a better, more substantive answer. Everyone should advocate. These aren't exciting issues compared to some of the topics that people have been advocating for, I know," Stec said.

Stec said constituents can reach out to him as well if pending legislation is of concern to them.

"Certainly,  you can reach out to me, to Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, Assemblyman Scott Gray and Senator Mark Walcyzk's office. You had us at hello, we're with you on this," Stec said.

Stec said writing to the Governor as well can only benefit the region.

"It won't hurt, it can only help," Stec said.