[018] Allied Health in Tennessee: A Supply and Demand Study: 2010

July 14, 2010

Middle Tennessee State University Plays Vital Role in Advancing Health-Care Industry in Southeast through Partnerships and Student Involvement

Allied Health in Tennessee: A Supply and Demand Study: 2010

(MURFREESBORO, TENN) — Middle Tennessee State University’s Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services recently released the fourth edition of “Allied Health in Tennessee: A Supply and Demand Study.”
The study, released in June, analyzes supply and demand for various allied health professions in Tennessee, said Cynthia Chafin, project director and consultant with the Adams Chair.
It was released through the MTSU Center for Health and Human Services, which has a grant with the Nashville Career Advancement Center and the Tennessee Hospital Association’s Center for Health Workforce Development in Tennessee to produce the fourth edition.
To view the study online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/AlliedHealth.shtml.
The fourth edition includes national and local data as well, Chafin said, adding that it is called the source for allied health supply and demand information by academic institutions, employers and students. A reflection of this is demonstrated by inclusion of data in the 2009 edition of the Tennessee State Health Plan, which can be viewed at http://www.tn.gov/finance/healthplanning/Documents/2009TennesseeStateHealthPlan.pdf. (The 2010 Allied Health Study is referenced on page 46.)
“At the national level, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Occupational Employment Projections to 2016 (from November 2007) indicate that jobs in health care and social assistance are expected to have the fastest rate of growth over the next 10 years with the addition of a projected 4.0 million new wage and salary jobs, or 27 percent of all nonagricultural wage and salary jobs,” said Dr. Jo Edwards, Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services and director of MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services.
“Jobs in health care are not going away,” Edwards added. “These statistics should capture the attention of students making career decisions, academicians, and state and local governments. The publication addresses the many challenges associated with a changing health- care landscape, a concern for which Dr. and Mrs. Carl Adams had envisioned the Adams Chair focusing its efforts.”
For more information on MTSU’s Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services and the Center for Health and Human Services, please visit http://mtsu.edu/~achcs/.

Supply and Demand Study contacts: Cynthia Chafin, 615-847-3081 or cchafin@mtsu.edu or Dr. Jo Edwards, 615-898-2905 or mjedward@mtsu.edu


Healthy Health-Care Industry in Nashville Region: Economic Impact Study: 2010

The Middle Tennessee State University Business and Economic Research Center in the Jones College of Business once again wielded its clout and expertise when on July 7 it released a yearlong economic-impact study on the health-care industry in the Nashville MSA. Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of the BERC, was the lead researcher.
“It’s great to join with the Nashville Health Care Council, the Nashville Chamber and MTSU to announce the results of the study that emphasizes the strength of the health-care industry in Nashville,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean told the audience at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel.
“The findings underscore what we’ve always know to be true—that Nashville’s health-care industry is unique to other markets, especially in the creation of jobs, locally and globally,” Arik said.
The partnership and MTSU’s involvement, however, was even greater and more significant because students in the College of Mass Communication conducted the interviews of industry leaders who appeared on the impact-study DVD. Students also edited the final product. Add the fact that MTSU Audio-Visual Services shot most of the footage, and the College of Education becomes a third MTSU partner in this larger collaboration.
“The caliber of students who participated in this project was just through the roof,” said Marissa Murphy of Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock, Inc., a national health-care public affairs firm headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn. “It was a very positive experience for everyone involved.”
Drs. Clare Bratten and Bob Kalwinsky, associate professors in the Department of Electronic Media Communication, served as advisers to the students.
“The (student) interviewers were Amanda Farris and Audrey Weddington,” Kalwinsky noted, “who were thrilled to meet and discuss health-care issues with Health Care Council members such as Dr. William Frist and Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. The post-production was conducted by Clare Bratten’s editing students, Hattice McCord and Lauren Levins, who turned out a very compelling product. We are very pleased with the final result,” he added.
“It was fun—I enjoy editing,” McCord, a senior mass communication major from Shelbyville, said, noting that the project took about two months to complete.
“I was glad to get to work on it,” added Levins, a graduate student in mass communication from Memphis. “I was very proud to show some of my work to other people.”
The student-produced DVD was included in the packet that was distributed at the event, along with the entire economic-impact study.
“The health-care industry contributes more than $30 billion a year and more than 210,000 jobs to the Nashville economy,” Mayor Dean announced, referring to the study’s findings. “The health-care industry is Nashville’s largest and fastest-growing employer.”
Joey Jacobs, chairman of the Health Care Council, told the gathering that there are more than 180 member companies in the HCC, which will soon be celebrating its 15th anniversary.
“We appreciate the hard work done by the staff at MTSU,” he concluded.
The entire study, key bullet points and the student-produced DVD can be found at www.healthcarecouncil.com.
“I am extremely proud of our faculty and students,” noted Dr. Roy Moore, mass communication dean, who attended the Nashville event and greeted the participating students. “Partnerships are what it’s all about, and we intend to expand our reach into the greater community, which is right in step with MTSU’s mission. It’s really rewarding to see our students applying their knowledge and skills in such a significant way.”
Economic Impact Study contact: MTSU’s Dr. Murat Arik 615-898-5424 or marik@mtsu.edu.


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For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com. MTSU News and Public Affairs contacts are: Tom Tozer, ttozer@mtsu.edu and Randy Weiler, jweiler@mtsu.edu.