The Southern Georgia Healthcare Sector Partnership, comprised of healthcare employers, educators, and workforce development, government and community leaders from the 18-county region, will meet on August 22 in Tifton to begin exploring ways to build a stronger talent pipeline for healthcare careers in southern Georgia.
 
Who: Southern Georgia Healthcare Sector Partnership including, but not limited to, participants from:

·       WorkSource Southern Georgia/Southern Georgia Regional Commission

·       Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center

·       Tift Regional Medical Center

·       Dorminy Medical Center

·       Memorial Satilla Health

·       McKinney Medical

·       South Central Primary Care Center

·       Area colleges and universities
 
When: Wednesday, August 22, 2018; 10:15 – 11:45 a.m.
10:15-11:30 a.m. — Employers to share their workforce needs
11:30-12:00 p.m. — Interactive development exercise in small groups
12:00 p.m. — Lunch break (best time for interviews)

Where: Tift Regional Community Events Center, 1657 South Carpenter Road in Tifton (Connected to the Tift Area YMCA)
 
Contact for media at Tift Regional Medical Center: Chris Efaw at (229) 392-8832 or [email protected]
 
The Southern Georgia Healthcare Sector Partnership group is led by WorkSource Southern Georgia, an organization which provides workforce services to businesses, industries and job seekers in Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner and Ware counties. WorkSource Southern Georgia received the Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative grant to spearhead the effort.
 
Over the course of several months, the healthcare partnership participants will conduct a needs assessment involving collection of the occupational, skill and training requirements from regional healthcare employers. The group will later develop steps to implement short- and long-term goals outlined in a strategic plan. The University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government will support WorkSource Southern Georgia through technical assistance, meeting facilitation and coaching during the sector partnership development process.
 
The following highlights the current status of the healthcare industry and healthcare workforce in southern Georgia:

·       There were over 3,600 unique job postings last year in southern Georgia in the healthcare sector. (Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.)

·       Eleven of the top 15 fastest growing occupations in southern Georgia over the next decade are in the healthcare sector. (Source: Georgia Department of Labor)

·       Healthcare is a major industry in southern Georgia, employing over 13,600 individuals. These careers span every educational level and a variety of occupations (e.g., medical, science, business, marketing, etc.). (Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.)

·       Sixteen of the 18 counties in the southern Georgia region are considered medically underserved areas or populations. The remaining two counties in the region are not considered medically underserved areas or populations. These areas/populations are designated by the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty or a high elderly population. (Source: U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration)