ALBANY — The SUNY system is investing nearly $1 million in nursing programs in areas with a shortage of health care providers, and is giving a handful of North Country colleges some cash to help them connect their nursing programs more closely.

On Tuesday, SUNY officials announced that they’re rolling out a series of grants to schools across the state, focused on building up nursing programs in communities that have a shortage of registered nurses.

SUNY Canton is getting $270,000 to build a practical nursing certificate program at the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center, a specialized adult education and certification center run by SUNY with help from various regional schools. That money will help build the classroom and a care simulation lab, and help to pay for a staff member based at the EOC.

And a group of regional SUNY colleges including SUNY Canton, Clinton Community College, Jefferson Community College and North Country Community College have been awarded a combined $60,000 grant that will help them establish a partnership for their nursing degree programs. Students who apply to full nursing programs at another member school will be directed to schools with more capacity, and faculty in specialized areas that don’t have many teachers available will be shared across campuses. The first shared faculty will be those with expertise in psychiatric nursing.

“SUNY is committed to helping Governor Hochul achieve New York State’s goal to eliminate the nursing workforce shortage. The High Needs Nursing Fund underscores SUNY’s dedication to advancing the success of our health care workforce,” SUNY Chancellor John King Jr. said in a statement. “By harnessing innovation and partnerships across our campuses, health care systems, and communities, this investment accelerates our ability to address New York’s health care workforce shortage.”

This effort is part of a wider push by the state to increase the number of health care workers in New York by 20%, which involves efforts from many different areas of the state government.