Education Alliance for New Hampshire Honors Concord Hospital Health System with 2025 Presidents’ Community Partner Award
Erin Collins, RN, and Emily Higgins, RN
Award celebrates Concord Hospital’s partnership with New England College’s Cooperative Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to train healthcare workers of the future.
The Education Alliance for New Hampshire recently awarded Concord Hospital Health System (CHHS) the 2025 Presidents’ Community Partner Award in celebration of CHHS’s collaboration with New England College to educate and train the next generation of nurses. This partnership comes at a critical time in the Granite State as hospitals are facing severe nursing shortages.
“Healthcare institutions across New Hampshire must do more than address today’s staffing shortages, we must also plan for the years and decades ahead by identifying and training our future workforce now,” said Robert P. Steigmeyer, President and CEO of Concord Hospital Health System. “Concord Hospital Health System is honored to receive the Education Alliance for New Hampshire’s 2025 Presidents’ Community Partner Award, and we are grateful for our collaboration with New England College in providing future nurses with workforce experience and mentorship.”
The award celebrated CHHS’s New England College’s Cooperative Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, which allows nursing students to gain hands-on training from the start of their education. Under the program, New England College students serve as Licensed Nursing Assistants (LNAs) and student nurses during their clinical cooperative experiences at one of Concord Hospital Health System’s campuses, learning directly from a licensed registered nurse preceptor. Rotating between the classroom and hospitals, BSN students earn their degrees in this accelerated three-year model.
“Concord Hospital Health System is thrilled to be celebrated for our partnership with New England College,” said Erin Collins, Vice President of Nursing. “The nursing students who learn and work in our health system are committed and engaged in learning and well-trained to care for our patients. It is a privilege to welcome them in as students and it is our hope that after graduation, we will welcome them as registered nurses."
Since its launch in 2022, the Concord Hospital-New England College joint BSN program has provided dozens of students the opportunity to learn about and gain experience in the nursing field first-hand.
While the program has recently had the short-term benefit of helping Concord Hospital manage the nationwide healthcare worker shortage, it also creates a pathway for the hospital to recruit and retain more knowledgeable, experienced nurses in the long-term.
Erin Collins, RN and Emily Higgins, RN received the award on behalf of CHHS on Thursday, April 10. Alongside CHHS, the Education Alliance for New Hampshire Presidents’ Awards recognized campus and community leaders who help drive positive change throughout the state.
