Examining the economic impact of health care
The health care industry has been at the top of everyone’s mind over the last year. But as the Chamber’s economic development arm, the Springfield Business Development Corporation, demonstrated during its recent Health Care Outlook event, it’s also hard to overstate the industry’s impact on the region’s economy every day.
The virtual event, presented on February 23 from the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, touched on numerous aspects of health care:
- Katelyn Lenhart of Burrell Behavioral Health discussed the increased emphasis on mental health during the pandemic.
- David Haustein, associate dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s Springfield Clinical Campus, and fourth-year medical student Allison Hall talked about how the Springfield physician training program is helping to address the need for doctors. (Click here to see the full-length video of this interview.)
- Tracy McGrady, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Ozarks Technical Community College, talked about health care-related workforce shortages and how the college is working to train people to meet those needs.
- David Atkisson of JE Dunn Construction and Geralyn Lynch, executive director of planning and design and construction at Mercy, talked about the economic impact of recent industry construction projects.
- The event concluded with a live panel discussion about the economic impact of health care in our region and the outlook for the industry. The panel featured Dr. Amy DeMelo, president of Cox College; Brent Hubbard, president and COO of Mercy; and Jill Williams, vice president of workforce initiatives at Missouri Hospital Association.
If you missed the event or would like to watch it again, click the video link below to see it in its entirety!