The region’s health care industry is greeting an influx of older adults at the same time it’s bidding a significant portion of its workforce farewell, creating opportunities for youngsters to enter the arena – if they can be trained fast enough.
But, according to data, the college graduation rate, particularly within the tech and health care professions, isn’t matching projected growth.
“That is about to be a huge issue,” said Dr. Wayne Scott, a longtime internist in the Chattanooga area who retired from private practice three years ago. “Older physicians are bailing, and there’s more and more patients with the aging of the population, and their problems are more complicated.”
Last year, there were about 137,000 adults age 65 or older in the nine Tennessee counties that surround Hamilton County plus Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties in Georgia, according to a Southeast Tennessee Development District report. That number is projected to increase to over 212,000 by 2030.
WORKFORCE NUMBERS