WEEKLY UPDATE: 12/11/25
On Thursday, December 11, Connecticut state officials, educators, and nurse leaders convened at the University of Hartford’s (UHart) Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering and Health Professions to celebrate the state’s participation in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which Connecticut officially joined this fall.
Speakers included Governor Ned Lamont, Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, UHart Nursing Department Executive Director and Chair Edie Ouellet, and Hartford HealthCare Regional Vice President of Patient Care Services, Hartford Region, Laura J. Bailey, MSN, RN. Also in attendance were Day Kimball Health Chief Nursing Officer John O’Keefe and Middlesex Health Nurse Scientist and Magnet Program Director Betty Molle, PhD, MSN, RN.
“Connecticut joining the Nurse Licensure Compact is an important step in strengthening our healthcare workforce, and we applaud Governor Lamont for advancing this effort,” said Laura Bailey. “By making it easier for nurses to practice across state lines, the compact supports recruitment and retention and helps keep Connecticut competitive with our neighboring states. This is a meaningful step within the broader work needed to sustain a strong nursing workforce for the future.”
“This compact increases access to care while maintaining public protection,” Governor Lamont said. “Modern healthcare requires a mobile workforce, whether responding to provider shortages or assisting during disasters. The compact not only gives our Connecticut nurses the flexibility to respond to the needs of communities across the country, but it also helps us address our own nursing shortage by allowing qualified nurses from other states to practice here more easily.”
“We were eager to pass legislation allowing Connecticut to enter the compact, and now that it’s a reality, we’re seeing tremendous interest,” Commissioner Juthani said. “Since our participation in the compact began this fall, we’ve already had more than 3,500 nurses apply. Our team is actively reaching out to healthcare providers to ensure they understand the benefits of the compact and how it creates new opportunities for Connecticut nurses.”
Interstate licensure compacts are valuable tools to bolster the healthcare workforce, as significant personnel shortages across the care continuum persist. The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) has strongly supported the Lamont administration’s efforts to join the NLC and continues to advocate for the adoption of current and emerging compacts for critical clinical and social services roles. This past legislative session, Connecticut became the 18th state to join the Physician Assistant (PA) Licensure Compact, which is now in the process of being operationalized to create a streamlined pathway for qualified PAs to practice in any member state under one license.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and CHA have compiled resources and information to help Connecticut healthcare providers navigate implementation of the NLC. The resources include answers to frequently asked questions, tools for employers, and guidance on conversion to a multistate license, also called a “compact license.”
Click here to watch the press conference.
Click here to read the governor’s press release on the NLC.
