In New York, Northwell Health gives millions of dollars each year to area schools and students. Now the system is partnering with New York City Public Schools and Bloomberg Philanthropies to build a new high school in Queens devoted to healthcare education, marking a big step forward in the direction the health system has worked toward for years.
Northwell Health is one of 13 health systems participating in a $250 million initiative from Bloomberg Philanthropies, in which health systems partner with 10 public school systems in urban and rural areas to create a high school with specialized healthcare curriculum, work-based learning, and opportunities for graduates to move directly into high-demand healthcare jobs. The schools will collectively serve nearly 6,000 students at full capacity.
"I would like this to be the first of many schools like this," Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling told Becker's. "I'm a big believer in apprenticeship. You learn by doing."
The initiative was announced Jan. 17, with individual health systems and school systems due to release more details about their respective healthcare high schools in the weeks to come. Northwell's high school will be newly established in Queens, N.Y., with a focus on diagnostic medicine, physical therapy, mental health and nursing. More information is expected in February.
As the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York with 85,000 associates, Northwell already reaches nearly 100,000 students annually through its existing educational programs. It has a lengthy and growing list of educational partnerships, scholarships and internships.
Mr. Dowling sees schools as critical not only to solving healthcare's worker shortages, but to improving health holistically. "If I help a kid go to college, I have improved the health of that whole family," he says.
In 2022, Northwell signed on as an anchor employer in partnership with New York City Public Schools to combine classroom and work-based learning in partnership with four high schools in Queens and Manhattan. Additionally, the system invests $5 million in its Northwell Community Scholars Program, in which students in seven economically disadvantaged, underrepresented school districts receive mentorship, college preparation, career guidance, shadowing and internship opportunities and financial support to pursue associate's degrees or certificates at area community colleges.
Others initiatives include Northwell's student ambassador program, in which students receive training to communicate with peers about topics directly impacting youth health; numerous medical school pipeline programs, of which 100% of participants have gone to college or a professional healthcare program; and a 10-week management internship for college juniors to gain exposure to healthcare administration and leadership.
"We are working with probably 70 high schools in the whole region," Mr. Dowling said. "People talk about the workforce shortage of the future. There's only a workforce shortage of the future if you don't do anything today."
Expanding educational and professional opportunities for students is more than a pressing business need to Mr. Dowling — it is personally meaningful. He was the first person in his family to attend college, graduating from University College Cork in Ireland while working up to 120 hours per week in odd jobs to fund his tuition. He immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and has led Northwell since 2002, but his firsthand experiences with poverty, classism and unequal access to opportunity continue to shape his approach to leadership and health.
"When I was a kid myself and wanted to go to college, I didn't have any exposure to these things. When I went to college, my eyes were opened to the possibilities," Mr. Dowling said. "That's what we give these kids. There's no limit to what these kids can do if you open up the possibility for them."
Mr. Dowling recalls being in the room 15 years ago when students from an under-resourced high school visited a Northwell hospital for on-site learning. In this instance, the teens were learning about an MRI machine and imaging. "It's amazing to be in that kind of meeting and watch the kids' eyes and see their behavior when they see something they have never seen before," Mr. Dowling said. "They are all thinking about what's possible."
The Bloomberg partnership marks a big step forward for the health system's work with schools. Mr. Dowling said his team has been building the school-healthcare pipeline for decades, crediting New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks, Northwell Chief Learning and Innovation Officer Jason Naidich, MD, and Northwell Senior Vice President of Community and Population Health Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, as especially influential champions. "I have great people here," said Mr. Dowling. "This work is integral to what we do as a system."
Mr. Dowling shared a message for health system leaders and executives who, like him, are staring down into the industry's current and forecasted workforce shortage. He encourages them to think big, noting that healthcare organizations can be overly dependent on the medical system as it stands today to solve all problems.
"Begin thinking more broadly about the role you should have," Mr. Dowling said. "Don't think narrowly about what you do inside your organization. Think about how you can influence and become a change agent for other institutions to be involved in education outside your organization. How can you be the catalyst for others to do things differently? Get other people to think about what's possible."
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