Thrive: Regional healthcare data released

Contact: Jennifer Smith, Communications, Thrive jsmith@thrivehere.org 608-443-1961

Find this release and images of Kathryn Otto online: http://www.thrivehere.org/media

Information on healthcare industry strengths, job opportunities and economic impact for the Madison Region

Madison Region, WI—Thrive is releasing its first-annual Healthcare Sector Snapshot, a picture of the strengths and opportunities of healthcare in the Madison Region.

Thrive’s sector snapshots are tools used for economic development, planning and legislative background; each snapshot (one per target sector: agriculture, biotechnology and healthcare) provides updated industry information, targeted employment opportunities in the region, and economic impact data. Each also provides a quick view of why the industry is a particular, unique strength in our region, and how Thrive is working with the target industry.

Fast facts from the report:

Over 1,200 healthcare establishments are spread across the eight-county region, with the distribution closely mirroring the population distribution.

Most of the establishments are small, but 75 employ over 100 employees and 13 of those employ more than 500. The majority of the larger employers are hospitals with at least one community hospital located in each county and several larger hospitals in Madison.

Career opportunities in the healthcare field have a wide range of educational requirements, from short-term training such as 120 to 140 hours to become a certified nursing aide or an emergency medical technician, one-year technical diplomas, Associate or Bachelor Degrees, and up to Master or Professional degrees. Similar to most occupations, wages increase with education.

In 2007, the average wage for healthcare jobs was almost $46,000 in the Madison Region ($45,000 for the state), as compared to only $38,000 for the average of ALL jobs in the state

Employment in healthcare grew by over 20% in the Madison Region compared to 15% in the state, and wages increased 38.5% in the region and 36% for the state as a whole.

Healthcare occupation employment is predicted to grow by 20% through 2016 compared to only 8% for all occupations though these figures will undoubtedly be impacted by the current economy. However, while growth may be slowed and replacement jobs may be less if current workers delay retirement, there will still continue to be a demand for healthcare workers as our population ages.

Kathryn Otto, Thrive’s Director of Healthcare Initiatives, focuses on efforts that will help the healthcare sector in the region remain strong, while also creating a competitive advantage for all businesses in the region. In the past year, that has included convening the Healthcare Leadership Collaborative and launching a regional wellness initiative, conducting a nursing workforce survey to determine the current and future workforce regional demands, implementing the Badger Career Network Alerts system for healthcare workforce recruitment and helping to reinvigorate the Biomedical Collaborative with specific focused strategies.