The Stories that Shaped 2009 No. 5: Health care, education balance shaky economy

A three-year-old survey quantified the importance of health care and education in the Ozarks economy, and although Greg Williams doesn't have updated statistics, he says their leading roles in the Ozarks economy haven't changed.

"But for the presence of the health care institutions and all the allied health clinics and services and higher education, this economy would be in much, much deeper recessionary trends," said Williams, senior vice president of economic development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the study in 2006.

Conducted by St. Louis-based Development Strategies Inc., the study found that health care had a local impact of $4.5 billion, and education, nearly $900 million, providing more than 25,000 local jobs combined.

Williams said part of the reason those industries have achieved dominance is because they each have a fairly broad reach.

"Springfield as a community has evolved into the regional hub of southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas (with) a concentration of colleges, universities and health care systems that serve a much broader geographic territory than cities of our size across the country," Williams said.

Preparations amid pressure

Like many sectors, education is feeling the pinch these days - Springfield R-XII School District spokeswoman Teresa Bledsoe said the school district has had budget cuts in each of the last two years. The district's $224.8 million 2009-10 budget is 2.6 percent less than the 2008-09 budget.

Missouri State University and Ozarks Technical Community College were among the state-funded institutions to enter agreements with Gov. Jay Nixon to freeze tuition for a second consecutive year in exchange for a guarantee of 95 percent of current fiscal year state appropriations, offering some insulation against steep cuts.

In July, the Springfield-Greene County Regional Health Commission, was formed to explore long-term solutions to increased numbers without insurance..

Leaders in health care and education recognize the importance of a well-trained work force - for health and other fields, and for the long-term work force needs of the region. They are teaming up to build that employee base through efforts at the Jordan Valley Innovation Center and at MSU's IDEA Commons, which will bring together innovation, design, entrepreneurship and the arts near JVIC, where both MSU and St. John's are engaged in research.

OTC and Drury University in August announced an agreement to help OTC allied health students transfer seamlessly into Drury's College of Graduate and Continuing Studies, and in December, OTC and Cox College of Nursing announced two academic agreements that encourage higher levels of education for OTC health graduates.

With higher unemployment, more people are seeing value in heading back to the classroom. The Missouri Community College Association announced in August that opening-day enrollment at Missouri's 12 community colleges was up 12.8 percent. Neosho-based Crowder led the pack with an enrollment increase of 33.5 percent, and OTC posted 15.6 percent growth - the state's sixth-highest.

In expansion mode

While many industries have pulled back in 2009, health care and education have pushed to grow. With millions of dollars in local projects, there's little doubt that institutional work softened the economic blow dealt to commercial construction.

Jordan Valley Community Health Center, which caters to low-income and uninsured patients, moved this summer into 70,000 square feet of renovated space in the former L.E. Cox Building, which also houses a state crime lab.

At Cox South, construction is under way on a 78,000-square-foot, $52.5 million emergency department, and the health system's wrapping up construction on its 62,000-square-foot, $21.8 million Walnut Lawn surgery center. CoxHealth also expanded its reach with the opening of a handful of Walmart-based clinics.

Springfield Public Schools opened the 58,980-square-foot, $10 million David Harrison Elementary School for classes in the fall, and the 124,000-square-foot, $18.5 million Hickory Hills K-8 School is scheduled to open in January.

The district will continue funneling money into construction in 2010 and beyond as a result of voters' Nov. 4 approval of a $50 million, no-tax-increase bond issue that allowed the district to take advantage of some federal interest-free stimulus bonds.

At Drury, the $12 million, 65,000-square-foot O'Reilly Family Event Center is taking shape.

St. John's brought a well-known ally in children's health to the Ozarks, becoming a domestic affiliate of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this summer and opening the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center.

Whatever 2010 brings, it's likely health care and education will help keep the Ozarks on a more even keel.

"Colleges and universities don't relocate," Williams said.Health care reform certainly will be a key issue in 2010 as legislators wrangle over a solution to nationwide access and affordable care.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Valley Community Health Center is among several area projects slated to receive federal funding in the fiscal 2010 omnibus spending bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 11. The clinic stands to receive $750,000 for construction, renovation and equipment costs for two of its clinics.

In education, Missouri State University is in line to receive $1 million for equipment, technology and program materials for its agriculture department.

The $12 million Training for Tomorrow initiative announced by Gov. Jay Nixon in December will help the state's community colleges, such as Ozarks Technical Community College, expand or create their training programs to serve more students in pursuit of high-tech, in-demand careers, which could include pharmacy technicians, nursing aides and skilled craftsmen.

Nixon also hopes to achieve legislative support for the proposed Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act when the session begins in January. That plan would create ongoing funding to attract and retain high-tech scientific and research jobs in the Show-Me state.

Springfield Public Schools will move forward on the projects being funded by the $50 million bond issue passed in 2009. The funds will add air conditioning at nine district schools and cover renovations at Hillcrest High School and others.