“Innovative Nursing Partnerships: The Future is Now” on June 8

NORTH HAVEN, CT – Brittany Burke, director of the Center for Nursing Practice at Norton Healthcare in Kentucky, will deliver the keynote address at “Innovative Nursing Partnerships: The Future is Now,” which will take place from 8:30-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 8. The Quinnipiac University School of Nursing and the Connecticut League for Nursing are sponsoring this free virtual program with funding from the Connecticut Office for Workforce Strategy. Register for this program here.

“This is an important moment to start to reimagine partnerships across the full nursing continuum, particularly in light of the dynamics of the nursing workforce in Connecticut,” said Lisa O’Connor, dean of the School of Nursing. “The primary goal of this summit is to evolve new ways for academia, practice and workforce to partner with one another. Our speakers will analyze existing successful academic practice partnerships in Connecticut and ways to replicate, innovate and expand them. We will emphasize the value of nursing students and clinical faculty to the healthcare settings and quantify their positive impact on patients, staff and families.”

Marcia Proto, executive director of the Connecticut League of Nursing, said the panelists also will discuss the importance of innovating and partnering on readiness and transition to practice programs to ensure a robust workforce pipeline in Connecticut.

“We cannot keep doing what we are doing as it will never meet the needs of our health care workforce or the health care needs of the residents of Connecticut,” Proto said.

Burke will discuss Norton Healthcare’s best-practice nurse readiness and transition to practice model. She will describe how Norton has developed a sustainable nursing workforce pipeline with specific program outcomes, including cost avoidance, culture shift and increased retention.

Her presentation will be followed by the panel, “Academe and Practice Partners Innovation,” where speakers will reflect on Burke’s presentation and discuss previous and current successful partnerships and opportunities to innovate and expand. The panel will include: Laura Bailey, regional vice president for patient care services at Hartford Health Care, Beth Beckman, chief nursing executive for Yale New Haven Health, Kathy Gallo, dean of the School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies at Hofstra and executive vice president and chief learning officer at Northwell Health, Chris Ann Meaney, senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Bristol Hospital, and Lisa O’Connor, dean of the School of Nursing at Quinnipiac.

The second panel, “Workforce Strengthening,” will include a presentation from the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce and Connecticut League for Nursing that supports the urgency of strengthening Connecticut’s education and workforce pipeline. This panel will include Marcia Proto, executive director for the Connecticut League for Nursing, Lisa Sundean, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston College of Nursing and Health Sciences and board chair for the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce; and Kelli-Marie Vallieres, executive director of the Office of Workforce Strategy and co-vice chair of the Governor’s Workforce Council.