Resnick donation targets nursing shortage
Gift pushes giving past $2 million

NEW PALTZ — Mildred and Louis Resnick have a distinguished record of supporting a wide variety of regional community needs, in particular the State University of New York at New Paltz. With a $90,000 gift to the university recently, the Resnicks hope to stem the nursing shortage that threatens health care in the Hudson Valley, and across the country.

The gift will be used to create the Resnick Scholarship for Nursing, which will be awarded to students enrolled in the New Paltz nursing program. Half of the donation will be used to award 13 or more scholarships in September. The remaining $45,000 will form the foundation to endow the scholarship program.

“Nurses are a scarcity, and with the population getting older and older, we need even more nurses,” said Louis Resnick. “While we’re focusing on the Hudson Valley with this program, the whole United States will eventually benefit.”

According to the Healthcare Association of New York State, the quality of care for New Yorkers is in real danger of being compromised because there are not enough workers, such as nurses, to provide vital health care services and assure optimum quality care.

The nursing scholarship continues a history of supporting the university and directly impacting the lives of students. In the last 18 years, the Resnick’s have shown their support with donations and gifts totaling more than $2 million. Their generosity has directly supported minority students, Ulster County residents and engineering majors. In addition, their gifts funded the construction of the Resnick Robotics Lab and an endowed lecture series.

“Mildred and Louis are extraordinary people . . their generosity is always aimed at improving our community,” said Roger Bowen, New Paltz’ president. “This scholarship is a gift to the Hudson Valley community, and the Resnicks have entrusted us to use this money to recruit and train future registered nurses to meet a critical need in our area hospitals.”

With the Resnick Scholarship for Nursing Program, SUNY New Paltz will grant at least 13 scholarships for the school year beginning September 2001 on the following criteria:

• Five or more scholarships will go to students recently awarded an associate degree in nursing from community colleges in the Mid-Hudson Valley;
• Four or more scholarships will go to practicing registered nurses who wish to return to school to pursue a nursing baccalaureate degree;
• Four scholarships will go to baccalaureate-prepared nurses who wish to pursue a Master of Science degree in nursing.

In the following years, the endowment, at its current level, will support one full-time or two part-time scholarships. In an effort to directly support Hudson Valley hospitals and other area health care providers, the Resnick Scholarship for Nursing carries an expectation that awardees will serve in the region for two years following their graduation.

The SUNY New Paltz Department of Nursing is accredited by the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and offers an upper-division bachelor of science degree program in nursing. It serves transfer students who have an associate’s degree in nursing and hospital-trained RNs with no prior college credits who meet the requirements of the Diploma-to-Degree program.

The Department of Nursing also offers an accredited master of science in nursing degree program with concentrations in gerontology and family care. This 42-credit program is designed to provide students who have an undergraduate nursing degree with an academic and clinical education which prepares them for the specialty practice role of clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator or nurse administrator. This program is also designed to provide a foundation for post-master and doctoral studies in nursing.