Chancellor John King tours SUNY Plattsburgh nursing skills lab

SUNY Chancellor John King came to the North Country this past week to SUNY Plattsburgh where he toured the campus and met with administrators, professors and students.  He visited the college’s new nursing skills lab, which is a simulation center that teaches students practical skills on high-tech mannequins before they start working at a hospital or in a health care facility.  The lab opened in late January.  A bill in the state Assembly that would allow lab work like this to account for 30% of the clinical hours required for nursing students.  The Chancellor King says he supports the bill, and is optimistic about its chances to pass the Assembly. North Country Assemblyman Billy Jones, who joined the Chancellor on his tour, is a co-sponsor of the bill.  John King also talked efforts to increase enrollment throughout the SUNY system which he says will be the key to improving SUNY’s long-term financial health along with a commitment from the State Legislature to fund SUNY for years to come.