SHARON — Nearly nine months after Sharon Hospital became part of the Northwell Health system, one of the nation’s largest healthcare networks, hospital president Christina McCulloch said the transition has been largely smooth, even as the facility navigates rising patient demand and broader uncertainty facing rural hospitals.
McCulloch said the transition has been “going very well,” with roughly 60 integration teams working to align Sharon Hospital’s departments and services with those of Northwell. She said the approach has focused on coordination rather than a wholesale restructuring of how the hospital operates.
The integration teams are “really focused on understanding how the entities work independently and how to work together effectively,” she said.
The operational changes have come as the hospital enters one of its busiest periods of the year. McCulloch said respiratory illnesses typically increase this time of year, and the current season has followed that pattern as flu rates rise nationally. She said the emergency department has experienced higher patient volume, leading to increased inpatient admissions, but described the situation as “manageable.”
The hospital reports that it has been averaging about 1,000 patients per month with approximately 12% of those requiring an overnight stay.
Last year proved eventful for Sharon Hospital. Nuvance Health, which has operated the hospital since 2019, merged with Northwell in May, while December saw the future of the hospital’s emergency response services come into question.
The hospital ended its relationship with Northern Dutchess Paramedics in December and has since begun building its own emergency medical response service.
At the same time, broader concerns have emerged amid proposed Medicaid cuts tied to President Trump’s budget bill and continued financial strain on rural hospitals nationwide. McCulloch said the hospital has not yet experienced direct impacts from potential Medicaid reductions, but said the issue is being considered as part of future planning.
“The hospital is committed to providing care to all patients in our community, regardless of changes to Medicaid,” she said.
She added that being part of a larger health system provides some protection against funding instability.
“Certainly, if we were a standalone hospital, this would be of even greater concern, but the benefit that we have from being a part of a larger system allows us to continue to operate and offer the services that we do,” McCulloch said.
Despite the changes, Sharon Hospital received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2025, its sixth consecutive year earning the designation. It was the only hospital in Connecticut to receive the rating.
McCulloch said the partnership with Northwell has supported continued investment in services the hospital has previously been recognized for, including recent upgrades to the radiology department. A new CT scanner was installed to replace older equipment.
“We do a little over 7,000 CT scans every year, so upgrading our equipment allows us to be more efficient and see more patients in a timely fashion,” McCulloch said.
“The partnership has been really beneficial to Sharon Hospital in the way we were able to expeditiously stand up those radiology services and ensure that there’s high quality, safe care,” she said.
The hospital has also expanded a training program that brings family medicine residents to Sharon to gain experience in rural healthcare settings, in partnership with New Milford Hospital.
In addition to clinical services, Nuvance Health offers community education classes on topics ranging from CPR to mental health first aid, many of them free. A full schedule is available on the provider’s community education webpage.
