Proposed cooperative looks to add health-care graduates

The Preparing to Care initiative calls for an annual appropriation of $38 million that would enable Missouri’s public universities and community colleges to increase the number of health professional graduates by 20 percent, according to a chamber news release.

Guest speakers at the forum, which begins at 3:30 p.m. at the chamber, will include University of Missouri System Interim President Gordon Lamb and Michael Nietzel, president of Missouri State University.

Employment shortages in health care fields are a growing problem in Missouri and throughout the country.

In Missouri, 106 of 114 counties are considered dental shortage areas, 25 of which are considered health professional shortage areas by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

The Show-Me State also suffers vacancy rates of 8 percent in pharmacy and nearly 10 percent in nursing, according to the Missouri Department of Higher Education. Other areas of concern cited by the state include significant retirements among active practitioners, changes in technology and practice, and the fact that the number of Missourians age 65 and older is expected to increase 44 percent by 2020.

For more information or to register, contact Sandy Howard at (417) 862-5567 or sandy@springfieldchamber.com.[[In-content Ad]]