By Suzy Barile: Triangle Business Journal
July 19, 2008

RALEIGH - Four health-care services top the list of occupations that are projected to add jobs fastest in the state in the next six years, according to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. Ambulatory health-care services, education and health services, nursing and residential care, and hospitals are expected to see employment growth of between 2 percent to 3 percent annually between 2004 and 2014.

"The jobs in allied health are really growing," says Susan Cheng, assistant dean of health technologies at Durham Technical Community College. "That, in addition to a continuing demand for nurses."

For Wake, Durham and Orange counties, the ESC projects an annualized jobs growth rate of between 2.5 percent and 2.87 percent through 2014 in education and health service jobs. Demand for registered nurses is expected to grow by 37 percent by 2014, home health aides jobs are projected to grow by 48 percent while home care aides positions could increase by 49 percent.

Cheng says that fields such as respiratory therapy, surgical technology and pharmacy technology need trained personnel. These jobs are also listed among the "20 Fast Growing Health Occupations" by the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers program. Other growing fields include cardiovascular technologist, clinical laboratory technician, physical therapist, radiologic technologist, pathologist assistant and registered nurse. To prepare students to fill these jobs, Durham Tech's pharmacy technology program now accepts students twice a year instead of once, thereby doubling capacity, Cheng says.

Increasing demand puts a strain on facilities, as well as the availability of faculty and eligible students. Several students who start such programs never complete them because of other pressures such as second jobs or family demands.

ONE STUDENT'S PATH
In the midst of it all, Christi Herrera is a success story. Immediately after high school, she headed to East Carolina University but left before completing her degree. Over the next few years, she worked full-time and went to school part-time, all the while trying to figure out what to do with her life. "I was always interested in health care," she says of her application to Durham Tech's nursing program. When she did apply, she was "older, more mature and made better grades," she says. "Everything fell into place."

Herrera is now a registered nurse in post-partum and nursery at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and plans to earn a bachelor's and then a master's degree in nursing.

Just as hiring eligible employees presents a challenge for area employers, so does retaining workers."We become a training ground for those directly out of school or with certifications," says Penny Washington, CEO of Wake Health Services, a nonprofit medical practice based in Raleigh. "They get their skill levels up and then leave for the hospitals and specialized positions, especially those with higher salaries."  Eleven years ago, Washington says, WHS had 30 employees, three sites, and a $3 million budget. "Now, we have 120 employees, and we just opened our seventh site and our budget is $10 million," she says.

A flood of newcomers to the Triangle is in part responsible for the pressure on health services. In 2007, Wake County grew by 106 people per day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the county's population is expected to pass 1 million in 2013 and nearly double by 2030. Durham County's population grew by 11 percent between 2000 and 2007, with an expected 6.71 percent increase by 2012. In Orange County, population increased by 26 percent between 1990 and 2000, though growth has since slowed. Also, Washington says, residents are spreading out, requiring health-care services to be available in outlying areas.

A report by the North Carolina Center for Nursing notes that the number of licensed practical nurses grew by 35 percent and the number of registered nurses rose by 28 percent over the past five years. Created by the General Assembly in 1991 as a state agency, the center conducts recruitment campaigns, retention programs and supply and demand analyses and forecasting. The center's budget is up for renewal this year.

MORE PHYSICIANS
Health-care jobs have been increasing rapidly in the past 16 years. According to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, the number of registered nurses in Durham County grew to 5,210 in 2006, from 3,954 nurses in 1990. During the same period, the number of nurses in Orange County rose to 2,693, from 1,570; Wake County's number of registered nurses rose to 7,909, from 4,023 in 1990.

Similar growth is visible in other health-care jobs. The number of physical therapists in Durham rose to 236, from 135. In Orange County, that number increased to 161, from 100.  And in Wake County, that number more than tripled, to 523, from 143. Similarly, the number of primary care physicians during the 16-year period rose from 366 to 540 in Durham. In Orange County, the number of physicians rose from 297 to 392 and in Wake County from 346 to 758.

Durham Tech this year added a Medical Assisting program, which offers a two-semester certificate and a four-semester diploma. Other programs at the college include clinical trials research associate, dental laboratory technology, occupational therapy assistant and respiratory therapy.

At Wake Technical Community College, degrees are offered in biosciences, computed tomography, dental hygiene, dental assisting, emergency medical science, human services technology, magnetic resonance imaging, massage therapy, medical assisting, medical laboratory technology, nursing, nursing assistant, pharmacy technology, phlebotomy, radiography and surgical technology.

High school students interested in allied health careers can begin coursework through an early college program sponsored by Wake Tech, WakeMed Health & Hospitals, the Wake County Public School System and the Learn and Earn program.

Despite rising numbers of health-care workers, Durham, Wake and Orange counties are deemed "medically underserved areas" and "medically underserved populations" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those designations imply shortages in primary medical care, dental or mental health providers.