Covista and Advocate Health Launch Strategic Nursing Collaboration to Strengthen Workforce Readiness and Expand Patient Access

Innovative new initiative combines education, clinical immersion, financial support and direct employment pathways to expand access and prepare practice-ready nurses

Covista (NYSE:CVSA), America's largest healthcare educator, and Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the U.S., today announced a new collaboration to expand access to nursing education and build a direct pipeline of practice-ready nurses across the communities Advocate Health serves.

Delivered through Chamberlain University, a Covista institution, the program provides students with a scholarship toward their Bachelor of Science in Nursing, clinical experience within Advocate Health care settings and loan repayment support during employment—creating a clear, financially supported path into the nursing profession.

"We are committed to developing a strong, sustainable nursing workforce prepared to meet the evolving needs of our patients and communities," said Betty Jo Rocchio, executive vice president and chief nurse executive, Advocate Health. "Our People Forward, Practice Ready strategy is about better attracting, preparing and retaining our nursing teammates. Chamberlain has the resources and footprint to match a system as large as ours, and their focus on nontraditional, working adults means we can reach students who might otherwise never have entered the nursing profession."

The initiative establishes a specialized Acute and Progressive Care nursing pathway, a Practice Ready, Specialty Focused® track, combining Chamberlain's clinical education expertise with Advocate Health's facilities and employment opportunities. With recruiting expected to begin next month for classes starting in September, it is purpose-built to grow over time and will serve hundreds of students each year.

"At Advocate Health, we believe building the healthcare workforce of tomorrow starts with removing barriers today," said Nakesha Lopez, chief people and culture officer, Advocate Health. "This collaboration with Covista creates a clear pathway for aspiring nurses—from education to employment—with the financial support they need to succeed. It reflects our commitment to growing talent from the ground up by welcoming them into an organization that will invest in their careers from the very start."

Advocate Health's focus on strengthening its nursing workforce and Covista's dedication to broadening access to healthcare education are directly aligned to meet the growing demand for compassionate clinicians prepared for today’s complex clinical environments. Covista’s Care Capacity Monitor, fielded by Gallup, found that more than 702,000 jobs are posted every month, with 306,000 unemployed healthcare workers available to fill them, a gap that is widening and directly affecting patient care. Nearly 70% of healthcare executives say talent partnerships with educators are among the most effective strategies for meeting their workforce needs, yet only 22% of executives say their organization is significantly investing in them.

"Every community deserves a healthcare workforce built specifically for it—trained in it, rooted in it and ready to serve from day one," said Steve Beard, chairman and CEO, Covista. "Our work with Advocate Health demonstrates the transformative power of large-scale collaboration between education and healthcare. When forward-thinking health systems invest in building that pathway alongside us—combining shared commitment, hands-on training and a direct line to employment—we create something sustainable that neither side could achieve independently. This is the future of strategic healthcare workforce development: purposeful, community-rooted and built to scale."

Chamberlain University is the nation's largest nursing school, serving approximately 40,000 students across 24 campuses and with more than 155,000 alumni practicing across all 50 states. At the heart of that reach is a deliberate focus on students who need nontraditional pathways. Recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as an Opportunity College and University, a designation reserved for institutions that expand access and deliver strong economic outcomes for graduates, Chamberlain was built for exactly the students this collaboration is designed to reach. That commitment is codified in Chamberlain Care®, the institution's model of holistic student support that follows students from enrollment through graduation and into their careers.

"Nursing has always attracted people with an extraordinary sense of purpose, but not everyone who has the ambition has had a direct pathway or opportunity to pursue the profession," said Amelia Manning, president, Chamberlain University. "Chamberlain was built to serve many students from varied backgrounds and circumstances including working adults, primary caregivers and first-generation college students who all show up with everything it takes to be an exceptional nurse. When a health system such as Advocate Health wraps employment, clinical experience and financial support into education, you unlock what is possible and help advance the health of people, families and communities the health systems serves."

For more information, please visit chamberlain.edu/advocatehealth.

About Covista

Covista is America's largest healthcare educator, serving more than 100,000 students and supported by a community of 385,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University. For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

About Chamberlain University

Chamberlain University, a Covista institution, educates, empowers and emboldens a community of healthcare professionals who seek to advance the health of people, families, communities and nations. Grounded in Chamberlain Care®, Chamberlain has the largest school of nursing in the U.S., with both on-campus and online degree programs. Chamberlain is comprised of the College of Nursing and the College of Health Professions, offering a variety of bachelor's, master's, doctoral and certificate programs. Chamberlain University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org). Visit chamberlain.edu for more information.

About Advocate Health

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. A preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, it delivers care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual health care. It is accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical Trials, plus two affiliated life-sciences-focused innovation districts and one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit.

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Maureen Bender

maureen.bender@covista.com