Nursing shortage

As the pandemic continues to strain the nation’s health care workforce, the National Guard has increasingly been called on to bridge the gaps.

The National Guard will be deployed to fill staffing shortages at Willow Point Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Vestal.

While plans for the new Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences facility pre-date the pandemic by several years, its opening comes at a time when many hospitals face nursing shortages.

With two units closed, the nursing home has reduced its capacity from 300 to 216 beds.

“A lot of the older adult care facilities completely shut us out, just for safety purposes, and kind of not bringing outsiders into their communities.”