Sacred Heart University and Hartford HealthCare Announce Comprehensive HealthCare Training and Development Agreement
Sacred Heart University and Hartford HealthCare have announced a comprehensive agreement to collaborate on and expand upon a wide variety of clinical training and development activities—launching a new scholarship, a medical certificate program while augmenting instructional and placement opportunities. Both organizations will benefit—as the agreement better supports SHU nursing and health professions students, while building an important pipeline for Hartford HealthCare in an era of well-known workplace shortages in health care, in Connecticut and across the country.
Clinical Training and Professional Development Opportunities
The agreement covers a spectrum of mutual training and clinical placement options. It will create a range of opportunities for SHU students pursuing BSN and APRN nursing degrees and will present opportunities for those studying emergency and internal medicine, primary care, psychiatry, neuropsychology and women’s health. It will likewise create new opportunities for students interested in becoming physician assistants (PA), physical and occupational therapists, radiographers and other types of diagnostic imaging technicians.
The following highlights represent the core of the new clinical opportunities:
- Nurse training and internships, including a new fellowship program for two critical care nursing fellows beginning summer 2023.
- Significant opportunities for clinical rotations and placements at Hartford HealthCare facilities.
- An expanded certified nursing assistant program that incorporates a shared faculty model.
- Clinical placements and rotations for SHU students studying to become PAs.
- Behavioral health clinical training and placements, collaborating with SHU’s master of clinical health counseling program and graduate programs of the School of Social Work.
- Expanded programs focused on paramedicine and EMT training.
Academic Excellence and Student Performance
Graduates of these programs will be prepared and ready for the workforce. SHU graduates have impressive exam pass rates that often surpass the national average. U.S. News & World Report also recently ranked SHU’s PA program 20th in the country.
SHU Licensure Exam Pass Rates (Class of 2022):
- Athletic Training: 100%
- Occupational Therapy: 100%
- Physical Therapy (PT): 99%
- Speech Language Pathology: 97%
- Nursing (NCLEX-RN): 97%
- Physician Assistant Studies: 95%
- Radiography: 92%
Investment in Healthcare Innovation
Hartford HealthCare is donating $125,000 per year over the coming four years to help provide and expand advanced simulation technology and techniques across all health professions. This will include educational curricula and learning modules that will be used by students studying women’s health, emergency department care, surgery, pediatrics and other procedural areas. Also, Hartford HealthCare is making a one-time $100,000 donation to create a named scholarship aimed at underserved students interested in nursing, allied health or behavioral health.
Diversity and the Role of Women in Medicine
Women physicians are vital to the dynamic of today’s healthcare arena. They bring unique perspectives and challenge us to be better, more equitable and kinder providers. Today women make up 37% of U.S. physicians, compared to just 5% in 1970. Hartford HealthCare is committed to building a workforce that reflects all of the people and communities we serve.
Growth and Market Transformation of Hartford HealthCare
Over the last decade, Hartford Healthcare has transformed itself, growing into a massive statewide health system employing 33,000 people as it acquired medical practices and hospitals across Connecticut. It acquired the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain in 2011, Backus Hospital in Norwich in 2013, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington in 2018, and St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport in 2019.
However, this impressive growth has faced legal scrutiny. St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center recently sued Hartford Healthcare in U.S. District Court, accusing its larger rival of jeopardizing competition and limiting consumer choice. The lawsuit claims that "Hartford HealthCare’s anti-competitive actions were taken not to compete, but specifically to increase its market dominance and ability to charge higher than market rates." One study cited by Kaiser Family Foundation found that an increase in physician-hospital integration was associated with an average price increase of 14% for the same service.