I-Team: Connecticut nursing school closure impacting nurses in western Massachusetts
Two women from western Massachusetts are going through this. They spoke anonymously to the 22News I-Team about their current situation. They are both working as nurses, but they have to commute to Connecticut every day because they are unable to get a job closer to home in Massachusetts.
State education board weighing minimum coursework requirements
Stone Academy closed its three locations in East Hartford, Waterbury and West Haven abruptly in February of 2023. According to the Connecticut Office of Higher Education, Stone Academy had unqualified instructors, 'invalid' clinical experience opportunities and didn't adequately record student attendance.
The school also reportedly had low pass rates. Practical nursing programs are required to have a pass rate of 80% on the National Council Licensure Examination known as the NCLEX. Instead, pass rates at Stone Academy ranged from 43% to 70%, according to Connecticut's Office of Higher Education.
The two women who spoke to the 22News I-Team say they disagree with the state's assessment, and they both passed the NCLEX on their first try.
'The school was accredited. We took the national state boards and we passed. There is no reason we should not be able to work in the state we live in.'
'I work in a surgical center. I am in the OR. It's just me and a surgeon. If I wasn't qualified, I wouldn't be able to be the only other person in there with him.'
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health told the 22News I-Team that the Board of Nursing did an extensive review of all Stone Academy applicants to make sure they are eligible for licensure under state regulations. In a statement to 22News, the Department of Public Health said, 'The Board of Nursing implements a rigorous evaluation process of all nursing applications which includes review of educational criteria.'
The Department of Public Health says the Nursing Board is now assessing whether the education received at Stone Academy was adequate, and if graduates need to complete another program that meets the Board's regulatory standards.
Both women say they want the Massachusetts Board of Nursing to reconsider their evaluation of Stone Academy graduates so they can work closer to home.
'I'm restricted to where I can work. I can only stay local because I have children. If I could work close to home, I could work anywhere. But I'm very stuck in one place.'
'I want them to look at the students and realize they are not the school. It may have had problems, but we took our education into our own hands and made sure we learned everything we needed to learn to be able to be successful.'
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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