Northwell Health and Connecticut State Community College (CT State) today announced a partnership aimed at strengthening Connecticut’s healthcare talent pipeline.

The collaboration will expand opportunities for CT State students, create pathways for Northwell employees seeking additional credentials and career advancement, and help address workforce needs in high-demand healthcare fields across Connecticut.

Initially launching at Norwalk and Danbury hospitals, the partnership is designed to serve as a model for future expansion across the Northwell Health system. It builds on CT State’s existing clinical and hands-on healthcare training by creating additional opportunities for learning and workforce development at Northwell’s facilities. The collaboration includes joint scholarship fundraising to help reduce financial barriers for students and employees, plans for development of co-branded instructional space, and expanded access to hands-on training environments, Northwell recruiters, career fairs and other opportunities that connect participants with healthcare careers.

The initiative will support clinical and nonclinical healthcare career pathways, including nurs-ing, medical assisting, allied health, billing and coding, and other workforce-aligned roles within the healthcare field.

“At Northwell, we see workforce development as both a community responsibility and a strategic priority,” says Dan DeBarba, president of Norwalk Hospital. “This partnership with CT State creates meaningful pathways for students and working professionals to access education, build skills and move into high-demand healthcare careers. By investing together

in training, opportunity and local talent, we are helping strengthen the future of the healthcare workforce in our region.”

"This partnership creates additional opportunities for students and working professionals while helping address workforce needs across Connecticut," says Christina Royal, Ph.D., in-terim president of Connecticut State Community College. "By connecting education, hands-on learning and career opportunities, we can help more people prepare for careers in healthcare, advance within the profession and serve the communities where they live and work. Together, CT State and Northwell are creating a model for how higher education and healthcare employers can collaborate to meet urgent workforce needs through practical so-lutions, measurable outcomes and long-term public value."

By strengthening connections between education and employment, Northwell and CT State aim to help more Connecticut residents build careers close to home while supporting the communities they serve.

For more information about the program and how to participate, contact Salvador Bondoc, or Carey Hawkins Ash, Ph.D., J.D., .

CONTACT

Northwell Health’s Norwalk Hospital
Jay Lederman, Manager Public & Community Relations O: (203) 852-2071 | M: (203) 767-9298 |

CT State Community College
Melissa Lamar, Director of Media and Public Relations
Strategic Marketing and Communications O: (860) 773-1407 |

About Northwell Health

Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 106,000 employees – including

members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell, named a TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025, is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.