$13 million boost for Sharon Hospital

SHARON, Conn. — Sharon Hospital will receive $13.1 million in federal funding to expand care for older residents, improve access to specialists and establish an outpatient rehabilitation facility outside its campus.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Sept. 16 that the award is part of $50 million in first-year agreements finalized by the Connecticut Department of Social Services under the Rural Health Transformation Program.

The statewide funding package includes $46 million for four rural hospital systems and nearly $4 million for technical assistance.

Sharon Hospital, part of Northwell Health, plans to combine its $13.1 million award with investments from the health system to support three initiatives: a healthy aging program, a staffed virtual health office and an off campus rehabilitation facility.

The healthy aging program will bring blood pressure checks, glucose monitoring and cholesterol screening to community settings where older residents already gather. Hospital officials said the gatherings will also provide opportunities for social interaction.

The virtual health office will provide a dedicated space at Sharon Hospital where patients can consult remotely with specialists, with clinical staff available to assist. The service is intended to help older residents, working families and patients whose medical conditions make travel difficult.

The planned rehabilitation facility will provide an additional location for physical therapy and rehabilitation, which hospital officials described as among the area’s most sought-after services. Existing rehabilitation services on the hospital campus will continue.

“These resources will help us strengthen access to care, invest in services that meet the unique needs of our rural community and continue building a healthier future for the patients and families we are privileged to serve,” Sharon Hospital President Christina McCulloch said in a statement.

Other first-year awards include $20.2 million for Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam and a combined $12.7 million for Hartford HealthCare’s Windham Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington.

The grants are intended to help rural hospitals address challenges that include staffing shortages, aging facilities, low patient volumes and a heavy reliance on public insurance programs. Projects statewide will include equipment upgrades, building renovations, expanded telehealth capacity and efforts to stabilize the health care workforce.

“Connecticut’s rural hospitals are essential to their communities, and they have unique challenges in ensuring that people who live in these areas can access the healthcare they need,” Lamont said.

The announcement follows other investments since Sharon Hospital became part of Northwell Health in May 2025, when Northwell merged with Nuvance Health, the hospital’s former parent organization.

Earlier this year, McCulloch described upgrades to the hospital’s radiology department, including a replacement CT scanner, and an expanded training program that brings family medicine residents to Sharon for experience in rural health care.

Connecticut is expected to receive approximately $154.2 million during the first year of the five-year federal program. The $50 million announced Sept. 16 represents the first group of finalized agreements with hospitals and a technical-assistance provider.

Sharon Hospital has not specified when its three initiatives will begin, where the offsite rehabilitation facility will be located or how the $13.1 million will be divided among them.