The health care sector is the strongest growth area in the United States. Consumption rose from 10.9 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1988 to more than 14 percent in 2002. The Milken Institute predicts that figure will reach 17 percent by 2011.

More new jobs, both wage and salary, are expected to be createdthrough 2014 in health care than in any other industry nationally, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This sector accounted for 15.1 percent of all jobs in Greater Waco in 2004 and has seen a growth rate faster than the national rate, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

The Greater Waco Strategic Economic Development Plan recognizes this trend and calls for expanding existing services and infrastructure for industry suppliers.

Waco is home to two non-profit acute-care hospitals, Providence Healthcare Network and Hillcrest Health System, which are two of the top five employers in Greater Waco.

Providence is undergoing a $48.5 million expansion project that will increase its total employment from 1910 to 2071 by August 2007. That number is expected to jump to 2,200 by 2011.

Central Texas has a need for expanded services to meet the needs of a growing community and aging population.

The thriving health care industry also calls for growth in the supporting industries such as suppliers.
About 50 percent of a hospital's cost is labor, and about 20 percent is supplies. Waco is in a natural location for the manufacturing and distribution of health-related products.

Hillcrest Health System also is expanding to meet the health care need. A $172-million project will relocate the hospital to Interstate 35 and Corporation Parkway.

With 1,800 employees, Hillcrest provides a Level II trauma center for the community.

The Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital also is a top employer with almost 800 employees.

The VA Hospital provides research and training opportunities for lab technicians, pharmacy technicians and people who are thinking toward a health care career.

The Scott & White System has four clinics, a pharmacy, a physical therapy clinic and the Scott & White Health Plan in McLennan County adding 230 employees to the health care sector.

The Family Health Center provides a residency training program for medical students and sees more than 110,000 patients each year serving as a key resource for health care services for the elderly and infirm in Greater Waco.

The Family Health Center's accredited residency training program, the first of its kind in Texas, began in 1970 to gain more physicians for the community.

More than half of the family physicians in McLennan County were trained by the Family Practice Center and stayed in the community.

The new Greater Waco Health Care Alliance, chaired by Dr. Roland Goertz, director of the Family Health Center, has named its mission to establish the area as a leading health care center in Texas.

Waco ISD offers programs for students at University High School in health careers, and students at Waco High School and the A.J. Moore Academy also can receive training by taking dual credit courses at McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College Waco. Students can earn certifications as a nurse assistant, dental assistant, emergency medical technician or phlebotomist.

Start a challenging and rewarding career in Nursing. Become an Instructor at McLennan Community College. Click here for more information or contact the Director of Health Sciences at MCC, Bridgit Moore (254) 299-8764.

MCC health careers program includes a gamut of programs led by a two-year associate degree in nursing. Other health care-related courses include emergency medical services, medical technology, vocational nursing, lab technician, radiology technician, respiratory care and physical therapist assistant.

TSTC is the only civilian biomedical two-year program in the nation that has an MRI and a CT machine on campus, said Roger Bowles, interim department chair for biomedical equipment technology.
Students can learn the range of medical imaging and other medical electronic equipment or choose the dental assistant or environmental health and safety technology programs.