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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | July 4, 2022 13 TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE FUTURES BRIGHTER. Scan here to learn how you can get involved: or visit unitedwayinc.org/events Our communities, region and world look different than anyone could have imagined a few years ago. We are all facing new and challenging circumstances and families who were already vulnerable and barely making ends meet before, are struggling now more than ever. United Way is here to respond, as we have for nearly 100 years. We are helping people deal with immediate needs while also helping communities recover and build a brighter future. LIVE UNITED TO G E T H E R , W E C A N L I V E U N IT E D. J O I N U S . G I V E . A D V O C A T E . V O L U N T E E R . @unitedwayinc unitedwayinc.org of Hartford Hospital — is working to address the crisis head-on. Among other things, Richards said that because of the lack of faculty at nursing schools, HHC is working closely to create new partnerships to get nursing students into their facilities for training. There are about 6,000 nurses in the HHC system. Hartford HealthCare in January announced it would spend $5 million over the next five years on a new partnership with Quinnipiac University to address critical shortfalls in the number of nurses, doctors and other professionals needed in health care in Connecticut and beyond. After implementation, Quinnipiac students will be able to train in HHC-designed academic programs, serve clinical rotations at HHC facilities and then transition into job openings within the health system. In addition, Richards said, HHC has a peer-support program where volunteer nurses work with their colleagues to offer advice and serve as a mentor. "They are not there to take the role of a psychologist, but they are there to have a chat with a nurse who might be struggling and can offer a listening ear," Richards said. "It's a peer supporting a peer; a nurse supporting another nurse. Unless you have walked in their shoes, you do not know what they are going through. It has been so rewarding for these nurses that they can help their colleagues." Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeff Flaks speaks at a press conference next to Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian, announcing a new partnership to boost the state's healthcare workforce. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED