CONNECTICUT, USA — Connecticut launched a new higher education program Wednesday designed to address the shortages in nursing and behavioral health providers.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the CT Health Horizons program is a three-year collaborative partnership between Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU), the Office of Workforce Strategy (OWS) and other multiple state agencies. Also collaborating on the program is University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges (CCIC) and the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA).
The goal? Address the state's workforce shortage through three pillars:
- Tuition assistance that will encourage students with diverse backgrounds to enter accelerated and cost-effective nursing and social work programs.
- Recruitment and retention of faculty to expand seat capacity.
- Innovative programs to promote partnerships between employers and institutes of higher education to build career pathways.
The program costs $35 million and was approved as part of the state budget bill Lamont recently signed into law. It is also funded with general American Rescue Plan Act money.
“We have a significant nursing shortage in Connecticut, and yet our colleges and universities do not currently have capacity to increase the number of qualified nursing students they serve,” Lamont said. “By making this investment, we are taking a critical step toward expanding the number of nursing seats at our public and private institutions of higher education. We also know that the need for mental health services has only increased during the pandemic. This collaborative approach will help promote a highly educated behavioral health workforce.”
Lamont's office said that OWS and CSCU will serve in a strategic oversight role to connect the efforts of this initiative to the governor's workforce development strategy for Connecticut.
CSCU will serve as the fund's general program manager and recipient and will work with UConn and CCIC to carry out the program.
“Health care – everything from nursing to behavioral health – is core to who we are at CSCU,” President Terrance Cheng said. “We offer the highest quality nursing and social work programs, but we need to be able to increase the number of students we serve. This program will help us do just that. We are proud to work with our state and higher education partners to advance Governor Lamont’s workforce goals.”
The initiative is estimated to provide tuition support to about 1,200 students entering nursing and social work programs focusing on associate degree nursing (ADN) programs, accelerated bachelor in nursing (BSN) programs, and master of social work (MSW) programs.
In addition, it is expected to expand educational seat capacity to serve more than 1,000 new students.
“This significant investment in training nurses and behavioral health providers is exactly the kind of program Congress had in mind when we passed the American Rescue Plan Act to help our nation rebuild from the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation said in a joint statement. “The need for mental health services skyrocketed during the pandemic and an already alarming shortage of nurses is now at an all-time high, leaving our health care systems understaffed at a critical time. We applaud the State of Connecticut for using these federal dollars to make an important investment in the workforce and the health of our communities.”
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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