More information is now available about Northwell Health's partnership with New York City Public Schools and Bloomberg Philanthropies to build a new healthcare career-focused high school.
The Northwell School of Health Sciences will be established in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens, one of the city's five boroughs, with a focus on graduating high school students into high-demand healthcare roles with family-sustaining pay, according to a Feb. 14 news release. The school is slated to open in fall 2025 and serve about 900 students at full capacity.
Northwell, a New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based health system with 85,000 associates, is among 13 major systems partnering with public schools for a $250 million initiative funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. As part of the initiative, health systems are partnering with 10 public school systems in urban and rural areas across the U.S. to create healthcare career-focused high schools.
Northwell and New York City Public Schools will co-develop the Northwell School of Health Sciences curriculum, according to the release.
Curriculum will offer academic programming, specialized healthcare classes, work-based learning, and the opportunity to earn credentials and certifications along with traditional high school learning and diplomas, the entities said. Graduates will then have opportunities to fill high-demand roles in nursing, diagnostic medicine (including lab technician and technologist roles), physical therapy and behavioral health.
"What we plan to build together in Queens is bigger than just one school — it's a visionary collaboration to improve public health and promote health equity in this city and beyond," Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling said in the release. "This is a new model for education that will create a better future for thousands of students and make a lasting impact on the future of health care for countless more.
"As the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York, Northwell remains committed to attracting and preparing more students for careers in health care that we need now and for our future."
More information about the Bloomberg initiative and the high schools is available here.