Sen. Skoufis Announces Funding for SUNY Orange AI and Health Care Program

The college is establishing the first AI and Healthcare Workforce Center in the state.

The Orange County Community College in Middletown, N.Y., on July 7, 2025. Oliver Mantyk/Epoch Times

ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.—State Sen. James Skoufis has secured $250,000 in the state budget for Orange County Community College (SUNY Orange) to create the AI and Healthcare Workforce Center, which will be the first of its kind in the state.

Skoufis and SUNY Orange President Kristine Young made the announcement at a press conference at the college’s Middletown campus on July 7. The goal of the program is to integrate the college’s well-established nursing and medical programs with the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The college will establish a center that will teach students, teachers, and community members how to apply AI to the field of medicine. It will place a significant focus on teaching staff how to apply the skills and teach students. The center will be a hub for connecting education, the private sector, and public agencies.

SUNY Orange will be collaborating with New York City-based Touro University to ensure the program is set up properly, as Touro has already established a firm footing in the AI sphere. The college is also looking to have the Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown participate in the center.

“I think we’re going to see residents from all over the Hudson Valley, all over New York State, coming to SUNY Orange, and we’re going to be producing the next cohort of health care professionals that are AI experts coming out of this college,” Skoufis said.

AI is now impacting nearly every aspect of the medical sphere, including patient diagnosis, communication, and drug development.

Every aspect of health care is currently and will soon be significantly impacted by AI, Skoufis said.

The program is expected to yield results by early 2026.

The funding is written into the 2025–2026 state budget, which was signed into effect on May 9. Skoufis says he hopes to continue the funding for the center every year.

“The College is deeply appreciative of the support and confidence Senator Skoufis continues to show in us to deliver creative and pioneering academic and workforce training programming that best serves his constituents and residents throughout the Hudson Valley,” Young said in a statement.

Young stressed the importance of the ethical use of AI.

“Helping our students learn how to work with [AI] ethically and smartly is what we want to do, and that’s the goal that we believe community colleges can play uniquely,” she said.

The ethical use of AI requires not relying on it too heavily, Young said, adding that SUNY Orange encourages students to question AI and to gain the knowledge necessary to become confident medical practitioners.