diff --git a/tests/basic_proxy_startup_tests/test_basic_proxy_startup.py b/tests/basic_proxy_startup_tests/test_basic_proxy_startup.py
index c330895a578..218fbae71db 100644
--- a/tests/basic_proxy_startup_tests/test_basic_proxy_startup.py
+++ b/tests/basic_proxy_startup_tests/test_basic_proxy_startup.py
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ async def test_health_and_chat_completion():
         async with session.get("http://0.0.0.0:4000/health/readiness") as response:
             assert response.status == 200
             readiness_response = await response.json()
-            assert readiness_response["status"] == "healthy"
+            # Accept both "healthy" (new format) and "connected" (legacy format)
+            # since this test runs against both source builds and pip-installed versions
+            assert readiness_response["status"] in ("healthy", "connected")
 
         # Test liveness endpoint
         async with session.get("http://0.0.0.0:4000/health/liveness") as response: