{"id":561296,"date":"2026-04-03T01:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/561296\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:55:13","slug":"unh-to-tackle-n-h-s-health-care-workforce-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/561296\/","title":{"rendered":"UNH to tackle N.H.’s health care workforce shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Hampshire has received an infusion of over $200 million in federal funds<\/a> meant to help improve access to rural health. <\/p>\n

In March, the state approved a plan<\/a> for spending some of those federal funds, including $15.7 million for the University of New Hampshire, the state\u2019s flagship public university. The funding is aimed at expanding access to health care training, clinical apprenticeships, career and technical education, and more. <\/p>\n

So what changes will the funding bring?<\/p>\n

Kirsten Corazzini is dean of the College of Health and Human Services and a professor of nursing at UNH. She\u2019s also the project lead for the university system\u2019s Rural Health Transformation Program<\/a> grant.<\/p>\n

A major health care issue facing New Hampshire is workforce shortages. Part of the university\u2019s role is working with other public and private higher education institutions to train more students to enter the workforce. <\/p>\n

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Corazzini said that means they need to address roadblocks in clinical learning that have prevented more people from graduating into needed health care roles. Students need hands-on experience, but there are caps on how many placements are available in nursing homes or hospitals, for example. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk to educators about what are some of the most critical bottlenecks in addressing the nursing shortage, they will say, \u2018Well, we just don\u2019t have the clinical placements,\u2019\u201d Corazzini said. <\/p>\n

One solution enabled by the new grant money is called \u201cclinical simulation,\u201d Corazzini said. The idea is to provide students with similar learning opportunities outside of a live clinical setting. <\/p>\n

Corazzini said this could take many forms, like having students work with standardized actors trained to play the role of patients, utilizing virtual reality headsets, or simulating clinical settings with high-tech robotic mannequins. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn all cases, you\u2019re using that technology to simulate that clinical space and learning,\u201d she said, pointing to studies that have shown clinical simulation can be an effective substitute to traditional clinical placements. <\/p>\n

It can also guarantee all students graduate with experience in uncommon but high-risk situations they might not have seen in a clinical placement. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity to bring our communities access to cutting edge clinical learning and help our young people see and envision for themselves really spectacular futures right here in their communities,\u201d Corazzini said. <\/p>\n

This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @amanda_gokee<\/a>.<\/p>\n