As rural areas of upstate New York struggle to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates are calling for a commitment and focus from state officials to boost aging regions with an influx of development programs and spending for health care infrastructure. 

Access remains the key issue for many New Yorkers who live in rural parts of the state: Access to health care professionals, facilities and even grocery stores.  

"Our rural communities definitely face significant challenges when it comes access not just to health care, but also food," said Helen Evans, the president of the New York State Association for Rural Health, in a Capital Tonight interview on Tuesday. "A lot of our communities are food deserts, a lot of communities have lot of challenges when it comes to vaccine access."

Residents of rural areas, especially in upstate New York, tend to be older, and communities have struggled to retain their population and younger people as they move away. That's led to the challenge of attracting health care workers, where a shortage existed even before the pandemic. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to augment the state's health care workforce, which has been depleted after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to boost the workforce by 20% over the next five years through a range of incentives. The proposal is part of Hochul's $216 billion budget plan that is due at the end of the month.  

For advocates like Evans, the hope is that effort will touch on rural areas, especially with a focus on development. 

"We definitely have a shortage in the health care workforce as well as the necessity to look at our health care infrastructure and whether it's feasbile for us to face those challenges," she said. "Part of that is looking at the budget and facing that we have faced some critical shortages in the past."