The St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance, representing seven member hospitals and the East and West St. Tammany Chambers of Commerce, share a vision with common goals and focus. For the last three years, the Alliance has built a coalition around widespread healthcare concerns and is addressing the crisis of the workforce shortage in healthcare.
The healthcare industry employs 13,000 people in our parish. Collectively, Alliance member hospitals have a significant economic impact in our parish employing over 4,750 people with a total payroll of more than $218,604,400. Yet, shortages in nursing and allied health professionals continue to exist. The Alliance is taking action today to address these demands and build and support the industry with highly skilled healthcare workers.
How has the Alliance addressed these needs? Productive partnerships with Delgado Community College, Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Technical College have enabled the Alliance to begin to build the capacity of our healthcare training programs on the northshore. Delgado Community College expanded its facilities, as well as its programs, to include a new “Careers That Heal” allied health training facility in the last year at their downtown Covington site. The Northshore Delgado program has experienced an increase of 24.7% in student enrollment in the last year. Students on the northshore can now obtain certificates and degrees in two years or less as surgical technicians, respiratory technicians, pharmacy technicians, and veterinary technicians without ever crossing the lake. Plans to expand programming to include an RN training program on the northshore are also currently being evaluated.
“As our hospitals continue to expand there will be an increased need over the next five years for over 400 nurses on the northshore,” stated Jan Robert, Executive Director of the Alliance. “This training program would allow the Alliance, together with their training partners, to continue to provide excellence in healthcare for our northshore citizens by guaranteeing a skilled workforce to deliver high quality care in a parish that expects nothing less.”
Many of our partners, such as Southeastern Louisiana University and Delgado, have also worked diligently to provide greater access to training for our northshore residents by providing more online classes for students interested in healthcare. Other educational partners are meeting the needs of our medical clinics, home health agencies nursing homes and other healthcare facilities by training nurse’s aides, phlebotomists, LPNs, patient care techs, emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
The St. Tammany Parish School Board and the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance have also formed a productive partnership, which is achieving measurable results. Alliance employers and healthcare professionals have partnered with area high schools to educate teachers, parents, students and guidance counselors on career pathways in healthcare and how to get started on a future career in healthcare while in high school. Students can, for example, become certified as a nurse assistant, a first responder, an EMT or a pharmacy technician while still enrolled in high school. The Healthcare Career Tech Academies in our St. Tammany Parish schools provide a unique opportunity for our youth to begin a journey in a healthcare career pathway and develop marketable skills for the future.
The Alliance directly engaged over 2,000 youth this year with a focused message concerning healthcare: There will be 13.5 million jobs available in hospitals, medical offices, clinics, labs, dental offices, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities from 2006-2016. During this same time period in Louisiana it is predicted that there will be a need for 76, 921 jobs available in healthcare and social assistance. This number will continue to skyrocket due to an expanding market and an alarming shortage of skilled workers.
Bringing over $2 million worth of investment to St. Tammany Parish over the last three years, the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance, together with its partners, will continue to deliver relevant and valuable programs with the hope of inspiring the next generation of healthcare workers.
For more information on the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance visit www.sthealthcare.org and to find out more about Careers That Heal visit www.careersthatheal.com.