YNHHS partners with local universities to remedy the nursing shortage

Yale New Haven Health recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with Fairfield University, Gateway Community College, Quinnipiac University and Southern Connecticut State University to help more qualified nursing student candidates become enrolled and subsequently employed. 

YNHHS has had longstanding partnerships with nursing schools around Connecticut, but helped create this formalized relationship after discussions about the health system’s need for nurses and the schools’ desire to accept more students. 

“This is a true partnership in every sense of the word,” said Beth Beckman, DNSc, YNHHS chief nurse executive. “We are solving 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 nurses.”  

This partnership aims to graduate at least 557 nurses in the upcoming four years, in addition to nursing students already enrolled. YNHHS is committing approximately $1.7 million over the next four years to provide scholarships and books to students who otherwise couldn’t afford school.

At a March 31 press conference, YNHHS announced a partnership with four area nursing schools. From left are: Meredith Wallace Kazer, APRN, PhD, dean of Fairfield University Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies; Sheila Solernou, RN, EdD, division director for Allied Health and Nursing at Gateway Community College; Beth Beckman, DNSc, YNHHS chief nurse executive; Christopher O’Connor, YNHHS CEO and president; Lisa O’Connor, RN, EdD, dean of the School of Nursing at Quinnipiac University; and Sandra Bulmer, PhD, dean, College of Health and Human Services at Southern Connecticut State University.