Attention, people looking for jobs of the future: Gateway has the line on them. And Yale-New Haven Hospital is helping open more slots.
Gateway Community College has graduated 132 nurses since the nursing program’s inception in 2002, and every one of those grads has a job in the field of nursing. That success promises to continue with a new $1 million infusion from Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH).
Dorsey L. Kendrick, pictured, was all smiles at a Wednesday ceremony at the school featuring hospital officials’ announcement of the new commitment. As the president of Gateway, she has presided over the growth of both the nursing and Allied Health programs, “the strongest in the school,” she said.
Y‑NHH contributed an initial $100,000 in 2002 when the nursing school first opened. It will now give $200,000 every year for five years under terms of an agreement with the city related to approval of the construction of a new cancer center.
“In 2002 we had no idea we’d be in the place we are today,” said Kendrick. “We had a vision and made it become a reality.”
The partnership is “meaningful to New Haven residents,” said Marna Borgstrom, CEO and president of YNHH, pictured with State Sen. Toni Harp. “It helps the local economy, the emplyment rate and our hospitals and patients.”
The shortage of certified nurses in the state and country is a problem that the Gateway/YNHH partnership hopes to alleviate.
“It’s a crisis of sorts,” said Harp. “A problem not just of programs but faculty.”
Harp explained that this year in the State Senate there is money in place to encourage new faculty and increase the number of nursing programs in the state.
One individual who benefited from the partnership is Marina Syrax. She spoke about how she and her husband relocated to New Haven from South Carolina. She applied and was accepted to Gateway’s nursing program and now works in nephrology at YNHH.
State Rep. Bill Dyson, pictured, was also in attendance. “What you’re experiencing right now is two great institutions coming together to confront an issue,” he said.
“Other institutions are watching,” he said. “And they’re trying to figure out how they can do the same.”
Dyson reminded everyone that there is a health care problem related to access in the state, and the partnership between Gateway and YNHH will increase the likelihood that it may be solved.
Yale-New Haven’s announcement followed some haggling with the city over whether the hospital had been late in delivering promised checks. As of Wednesday, the money’s in hand, and the program’s moving forward.
This is a great example of a true community benefit coming from the negotiations between the city and the hospital. Nurses are well paid in New Haven and there is a big nursing shortage so this is a great way to get more New Haveners joining the middle class after a two year degree.
Congratulations to Dr. Kendrick for fighting so hard to build the nursing program which did not even exist before she became the college's president.