Yale New Haven Health partners with local universities to remedy the nursing shortage

New Haven, CT (March 31, 2022) – Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) announced a groundbreaking partnership with four local universities today at press conference. Fairfield University, Gateway Community College, Quinnipiac University and Southern Connecticut State University all signed agreements to partner with YNHHS to help more qualified nursing student candidates become enrolled and subsequently employed. 

Yale New Haven Health has had long standing partnerships with nursing schools around the state but after discussions not only about the need for nurses at the hospital but the desire of the universities to be able to accept more students, this formalized relationship was created. The collaboration creatively solves two big problems in nursing – the shortage of faculty to instruct and the large need for nurses in the healthcare workforce.

“This is a true partnership in every sense of the word,” said Beth Beckman, chief nursing officer, YNHHS. “We are solving for two main challenges – adequate student clinical placement and ample faculty to oversee their clinical learning. In this partnership, we intend to increase the pipeline of nurse graduates, with a special push to encourage more diverse candidates. We will make every effort to innovate solutions so that we no longer turn away qualified candidates who want to become a nurse.”  

This partnership promises to graduate at least 557 additional nurses over the course of the next four years, in addition to those already enrolled. YNHHS is committing approximately $1.7 million over the next four years to the collaboration to provide scholarships and books to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend school. 

“Fairfield’s Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies could not be more proud and excited to join Yale in this important partnership,” said Dean Meredith Wallace Kazer, PhD, APRN. Fairfield University Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies. “Within this initiative, we will collaboratively engage in the next education of nurses to ensure high quality healthcare for the patients and families we are honored to serve.”

“From the program’s inception, Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Health have been a stalwart partner and supporter of Gateway’s Nursing program, and together we have trained thousands of nurses who care for so many of us every single day,” said William Terry Brown, PhD, CEO, Gateway Community College  “We are thrilled that they are dedicating these additional resources to enable us to expand our Nursing program even further and to support our students as they complete their nursing studies.”

“The Quinnipiac University School of Nursing is grateful for the collaboration with the Yale New Haven Health System,” said Lisa O’Connor, EdD, RN, dean of the School of Nursing at Quinnipiac University. “Beth Beckman’s leadership and the commitment and focus her team has shown on workforce development with a special emphasis on increasing diversity aligns well with the strategic mission and vision of Quinnipiac University and the School of Nursing. We are excited to work with our fellow colleagues at Yale New Haven, Fairfield, Gateway and Southern. Through this innovative partnership, we will be enhancing what is already a highly valued relationship with YNHHS. Together, we will be developing an even stronger nursing workforce that is well-prepared for its transition to professional nursing practice.”

“This groundbreaking partnership with YNHHS will further enhance Southern’s mission of access, social justice, and service for the public good,” said SCSU president Joe Bertolino. “It will enable us to double the number of students who graduate with a nursing degree by 2026, and also offer excellent teaching and training facilities in the new Health and Human Services Building opening on campus later this year. More than 85 percent of our graduates stay on to live and work in the state, so this investment will positively impact both the capacity and diversity of Connecticut’s nursing workforce.”

Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS), one of the largest and most comprehensive healthcare systems in Connecticut, is recognized for advanced clinical care, quality, service, cost effectiveness and commitment to improving the health status of the communities it serves. YNHHS includes five hospitals – Bridgeport, Greenwich, Lawrence + Memorial, Westerly and Yale New Haven hospitals, several specialty networks and Northeast Medical Group, a non-profit medical foundation with several hundred community-based and hospital-employed physicians. YNHHS is affiliated with Yale University and Yale Medicine, the clinical practice of the Yale School of Medicine and the largest academic multi-specialty practice in New England. Yale New Haven Hospital is the primary teaching hospital of Yale School of Medicine. www.ynhhs.org