Category: 2022-23 Accomplishments - THE CONNECTICUT CENTER FOR NURSING WORKFORCE, INC. (CCNW)

CT Nurses’ Association 2023 Legislative Agenda

6/25/2023

CCNW support the CT Nurses’ Association 2023 Legislative Agenda. Kim Sandor and her team have done a great job to identify the key issues to promote during this year’s legislative session! It is amazing that all of the CCNW initiatives fall into the “priority” list for the state! To view the more information, please follow this link:
https://ctnurses.org/page-18287

Federal DOL Grant to Support Nurse Expansion

6/24/2023

Although CCNW received notification in May 2023 that our proposal was NOT funded…. for the first time… CCNW submitted a proposal as the sole lead applicant!!! This was a Federal DOL Grant to Support Nurse Expansion by Preparing Nurses to become Instructors and Educators through providing free tuition for our online faculty-led courses and funding for academic-practice Joint Appointments. During the 60-month grant period, CCNW requested $2.8 million for:

Free Tuition for (275) seats to the Part-Time Clinical Nurse Faculty Preparation Course
Free Tuition for (125) seats to the Full-Time Nurse Faculty Preparation Course
(72) Joint Academic-Practice Appointments- monies to utilizing MERCI- A Model to Embed Resources for Clinical Instruction for student clinical experiences
Leveraging the content of CCNW’s Introduction to Population Health Course that was created in conjunction with the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative- Action Coalition (CNC-AC) with Robert Wood Johnson and AARP funding via the Center to Champion Nurses in America
Provide multi-year Career Coaching and Counseling to support the seamless transition of Connecticut nurses from clinical practice to roles of nurse educators
Secured over (35) letters of support from Employers from Academe and Practice, Workforce Development Boards, State and National Trade Nursing & Workforce Associations, Labor, and Other Partners. Thank you to all of your organizations that have sent letters of support!

Minimum Data Sets on Aging of CT’s Nursing Workforce

6/23/2023

Addressed the Aging of CT’s Nursing Workforce through Data Gathering and Analysis- Gained insights into understanding the CT Nursing Workforce by utilizing the national Minimum Data Sets for EDUCATION and SUPPLY. The Minimum Data Sets (MDSs) are created by the National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Centers.

Engaged with all the Schools & Programs of Nursing in CT to implement the MDS for EDUCATION to effectively identify nurse faculty & student demographics for pre-licensure RN and LPN programs in CT. Two high-level statewide Pre-Licensure Reports were created and presented to the CT State Board of Examiners for Nursing in April 2023 which addressed: The Number of 2022 qualified applicants, student attrition, student graduates and total number of students enrolled in each program, plus other student demographic information. Reports were generated for both LPN and RN Pre-licensure programs.
Secured the MDS for SUPPLY data in partnership with the CT Department of Public Health Nurse via data gathered through the 2022 online Nurse Re-Licensure Process, and the Connecticut Data Collaborative. These data represent all of the 85,000+ licensed RNs and 16,000+ licensed LPNs within the state; and once analyzed and disseminated will help inform decisions made by CT Stakeholders when crafting statewide nursing workforce development plans.
The 2022 Statewide Reports on Nursing Education and the Supply of Nurses will be published by the CCNW in late summer 2023. View the comprehensive list of white papers, reports and infographics.
As a demonstrated leader and continually sharing our data reports and providing concrete recommendations as to how to transition this data into strategic actions, CCNW was able to gain a “seat at the table” and build active partnerships with various state and government entities who have a shared goal to build a sustainable and robust nursing workforce in CT.

National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Center’s Annual Conference

6/22/2023

Once again, CCNW was a lead sponsor of the National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Center’s Annual Conference that took place in Washington, DC on June 12-14, 2023. For the third year, Marcia Proto was an integral member of the Conference Planning Committee securing sponsors for the national event, as well as confirming Rebecca Love to be the keynote speaker of the Conference. In addition, CCNW continued its five-year tradition of being podium presenters.

This year’s presentation was in conjunction with Versant Healthcare Competency Solutions and highlighted the development and implementation of CCNW’s Certified Nursing Assistant Course, specifically designed to meet the needs of our post-acute care employers. Highlighting how essential competencies- critical for safe and quality practice of the CNA- were determined and braided into both the Didactic and Clinical Immersion components. Larissa Africa, CEO of Versant; Beth Capobianco, CCNW Course Developer & Lead Faculty, and Marcia Proto were presenters of the session.
Moreover, Peggy Mallick spoke with hundreds of attendees while “manning” the CCNW booth sharing solutions to addressing the nurse workforce faculty shortages including our Part-time Clinical Nurse Faculty Prep Course and our “soon to launch” Full-time Nurse Faculty Prep Course on August 7, 2023

Statewide Nursing & Healthcare Workforce Summit

6/21/2023

On April 5, 2023 CCNW hosted our Statewide Nursing & Healthcare Workforce Summit on ground at the Aqua Turf Club, Plantsville, CT!

A “heavy hitter line up” of speakers was assembled including Dan Weberg, PhD, MHI, RN, FAAN as our keynote- “Nursing’s Blockbuster Moment: Leading the Future of Healthcare”
The Focus of the Summit was to:
- Highlight 2022 Data related to current nursing skill gaps in Connecticut’s nursing workforce by assessing the capacity of our education pipelines, availability of faculty; and sharing the supply of nurses prepared for the roles of RN and LPN.
- Showcase promising practices by our statewide partners to identify how best to align available resources and dollars in targeted areas to minimize future skill gaps and achieve optimal return on investment.
- Visit 2023 Nursing and Healthcare Workforce Summit to view videos, presentations, and interviews from the event!

Retreat for Executive Directors of Nursing Workforce Centers

6/20/2023

Marcia Proto, Executive Director of the CCNW, attended a 2-day Retreat for Executive Directors of Nursing Workforce Centers across the country hosted by the National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Centers on January 9-11, 2023.

Centers across the country are facing similar challenges within pertaining to nursing workforce and education and are committed to leverage best practice strategies and solutions from each Center.
Centers were very interested in learning more about how they can partner with CCNW on the Part-Time Clinical Nurse Faculty Preparation Course and Full-Time Nurse Faculty Preparation Course.

Eva Sterns Faulkner Foundation Funding

6/19/2023

CCNW received $300,000 in funding from the Eva Sterns Faulkner Foundation to create an online faculty led Full-Time Nurse Faculty Preparation Course to support the development of well-prepared nursing faculty. The Course offers 6 weeks of faculty-led coursework and (6) hours of Coaching support during the semester.

The Curriculum was finalized in April 2023; a Best-Practice Template for Online Delivery was created to structure and format the online learning modules; nine Subject Matter Experts were hired to build out each module; the (20) modules were uploaded into the Moodle Platform by our Instructional Designer; and Pilot Course was launched on May 15, 2023. The Pilot will serve to assess the breadth and scope of the curriculum, assess the ease for seamless transition to a role as a Full-time Nurse Faculty; and the applicability and value of resources, discussion board assignments, and reflection activities.
Fourteen participants (MSNs, PhDs and DNPs) are enrolled in the Pilot Course to help refine the curriculum and position CCNW to launch this course on a national scale.
Our School Liaison is working with CT Colleges and Universities to assess the need for Full-Time Faculty; introduce the course as an onboarding resource to compliment the schools’ efforts to support the seamless transition to the full-time role; and identify prospective new faculty and novice faculty to register for the August 2023 launch of the Course.
A great team, championed by Dawn Bunting along with Sheila Solernou, Susan Deane, and Tina Lear are engaged to make this course a flagship in nursing education for the CCNW now and in the future! Thank you for driving this innovative initiative forward!

Part-Time Clinical Nurse Faculty Preparation Course utilized by The State of Hawaii

6/15/2023

The State of Hawaii, through the efforts of the Hawaii Nursing Workforce Center, utilized CCNW’s Part-Time Clinical Nurse Faculty Preparation Course and covered tuition for (39) practicing nurses to participate in our online faculty-led course. The nurses began the course on January 9, 2023.

A HUGE Thank You to Laura Reichardt, Executive Director for the Hawaii Center for Nursing, for making this happen, and
To the excellent CCNW online faculty for stepping up to create two separate cohorts for instruction and to Susan Deane for her leadership of our online offering!

Lunch & Learn Webinar Series in 2023

6/14/2023

CCNW is committed to providing “value added” education opportunities to Connecticut nurses and held (4) successful Professional Development “Lunch & Learn Webinar Series” in 2023.

Creating a Culture of Workforce Safety, Facilitated by Mel Cortez, Held 2/8/23
Innovative Pathways to Clinical Nursing Student Competence, Facilitated by Meredith Wallace Kazer and Audrey Beauvais, Held 3/8/23
Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Simulations: Third Time's the Charm!, Facilitated by Valorie MacKenna and Dawn Sarage, Held 4/12/23
Reclaim Your Life by Creating New Leadership Norms, Facilitated by Michelle Troseth and Dr. Tracy Christopherson, Held 4/25/23

Mel Cortez, RN, BSN, Founder/CEO of Cortex Gold

Meredith Wallace Kazer, PhD, APRN, FAAN

Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN

Dawn Sarage, MSN, RN, CNL, CMSRN, CHSE

Valorie MacKenna, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE

Michelle Troseth and Dr. Tracy Christopherson

CCNW’s Statewide Nursing Student Clinical Placement System

6/13/2023

CCNW’s Statewide Nursing Student Clinical Placement System gets a HUGE boost as Hartford Healthcare Corporation (HHC) standardizes the Clinical Placement Process at (10) of its healthcare facilities for the Spring 2023 Semester!

HHC has engaged with (17) academic partners in utilizing CCNW’s proprietary online system to assign, manage, and archive clinical placements, observations, and capstones experiences for over 2,000 students just for the Spring 2023 semester.
HHC joins Stamford Health to utilize our statewide platform. A huge “Shout Out” to Warly Remegio and his team at HHC for moving quickly over the past three months to stand up this process; our early adopter, Mary McKiernan at Stamford Health, for jumping in during our beta testing of the System over 6 years ago and making our system even more effective through her active engagement; and CCNW’s Program Manager, Peggy Mallick, for leading the training and support for both the practice and academic partners to “master” the system administration!

Engagement with Statewide Sector Partners to support Nursing in Connecticut

6/12/2023

In 2023, CCNW received news from the State of Connecticut and the Regional Workforce Development Boards! The Connecticut Attorney General signed off on (2) statewide Contracts in which CCNW will use its expertise to support statewide nursing workforce pipeline development efforts:

CCNW is acting in the role of Nurse Consultant to the 3-year $36 million CT Health Horizons Initiative providing: data, innovative workforce development strategies, and support to the nursing schools funded under this statewide nursing and social work project. CCNW will receive up to $150,000 each year for 3 years.
CCNW will continue its 12-year relationship with The Workplace, Inc., one of the five regional workforce development boards in Connecticut. We will continue to provide our CORE Skills and Customer Service Training to Connecticut residents seeking to enter the healthcare workforce, yet now on a statewide scale due to the expansion of the Health CareeRx Academy model. Our expert nurses will teach these two virtual online courses to over 425 candidates each year. CCNW will be funded up to $250,000 for our work over the 3 years.
Beginning January 2023, CCNW’s Certified Nursing Assistant Course, specifically designed to meet the needs of our post-acute care employers, received approval by the Connecticut Department of Labor to qualify for WIOA funding. Thank you to the Workforce Alliance for championing these efforts on behalf of CCNW.
- The course development was funded by a grant from Capital Workforce Partners in 2021. This will enable Connecticut residents who wish to participate in our CNA Course to access funding to pay for the tuition via any of the five regional workforce development boards within the state.
- Post-acute care employers seeking CNA’s, please reach out to CCNW to partner to create an employer-based cohort and fill your current CNA vacancies!

2024 Annual Nursing Workforce Supporters

OUR MISSION

To foster collaborations to ensure a highly educated, diverse, and sustainable nursing workforce to support the healthcare needs of Connecticut residents.

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