As Houston’s economy continues to recover from the oil and gas downturn, the health care job market in Greater Houston—including Tomball and Magnolia—has proven to be resilient as the area population and demand for services continue to rise.
In December 2015, the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual employment forecast predicted around 9,000 health care jobs would be added during 2016, said Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president of research at GHP.
“So far [from January to August], we created 7,200 jobs [in the health care industry], so the numbers seem to be on track,” he said.
Job market shift
Since the Greater Houston Partnership started tracking health care employment 25 years ago, the industry has grown more than 69 percent.[/caption]
The University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business reports the region lost nearly 25,000 oil production and services jobs and over 29,000 manufacturing jobs from December 2014 to July 2016. Hospital officials say these losses could explain why many workers are now moving to work in the health care industry.
“Memorial Hermann is seeing more and more people seeking employment in health care,” said Tanya Cook, vice president of talent acquisition and premier staffing for Memorial Hermann Health System. “That’s due largely to the downturn in oil and energy business. While our primary need is for health care clinicians, we are always looking for talented people for nonclinical jobs such as accounting and finance, and information and technology.”
Nearly 1 in 9 job holders in the Greater Houston area now works in the health care industry, and the sector has added nearly 50,000 jobs in the past five years according to the GHP.
Jankowski said two factors most contribute to the growth in health care jobs: the natural population increase from babies born in the area and an aging population. He said about 30,000 residents turn 65 years old each year.
“If you think about how Houston’s [metro] population has grown over the last 30 years, our population has doubled over the last 30 years,” he said. “There’s another factor in health care: People talk about baby boomers. One of the times you need health care is when you get older. “
Houston, local markets
Hospital officials and market experts agree the population increase is driving much of the market growth, steering it away from downtown Houston toward the suburbs.
Although the Texas Medical Center is still one of the largest employers for health care workers, large hospital systems are also looking outside Loop 610 for new facility locations, Jankowski said.
“You’ve seen with health care—whether it’s the hospitals or urgent care centers or patient care centers—migrating to the suburbs. That comes from good business sense,” he said. “They’re trying to put their facilities as close to people as possible.”
Scott Barbe, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Cypress, said the health system is working to cater to residents with urgent care and Convenience Care centers, which provide walk-in primary care. He said the smaller health care centers allow Memorial Hermann to build in areas closer to residential communities and offer walk-in services.
Since the Greater Houston Partnership started tracking health care employment 25 years ago, the industry has grown more than 69 percent.[/caption]
“We recognize that people don’t want to drive very far for high-quality health care, so we are committed to bringing it to them,” Barbe said. “As long as a city is growing, health care providers will need to grow to keep up with the population. That kind of population will support a wide range of services—everything from pediatric care to emergency services.”
Barbe said the health system is targeting areas of Houston experiencing significant population growth, including the northwest area. In February, Memorial Hermann opened a Convenient Care Center in the Cypress area, the first phase of a larger hospital center slated to be complete in 2017. Another Convenient Care Center is under construction near the Grand Parkway and Boudreaux Road at the border of Tomball and Spring.
Closer to home, Tomball Regional Medical Center has also been responding to local growth by expanding existing facilities and adding staff.
In late 2015, TRMC completed renovations to its emergency room, adding 3,100 additional square feet and seven patient rooms. This year, the hospital added several new staff members to meet patient demand.
“We are proud to have welcomed more than 70 physicians this year to our medical staff in a number of specialties,” TRMC Marketing Manager Sylvia Saumell-Baston said. “Population growth drives health care demand, and we consider this an opportunity to respond to and exceed the rising expectations of our residents.”
Education opportunities
Keeping in line with demand, local higher education providers are also expanding their health care education offerings to prepare more students to enter the workforce.
Statewide, the demand for nurses has grown in recent years due to population increases and life longevity, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
Lone Star College System’s nursing program—which is offered at five campuses, including LSC-Tomball—is the largest program offered by LSCS, said Linda Luehrs-Wolfe, LSC-Kingwood dean of sciences and health occupations.
Following the oil and gas downturn, Greater Houston area jobholders are making the move to careers in health care. The industry is projected to experience significant growth in the next 10 years.[/caption]
“[Program] offerings are determined by several factors, including space and availability of jobs—which continues to grow for nursing,” Luehrs-Wolfe said. “We develop our programs in [conjunction] with the various health care providers in the region to ensure they are able to hire a well-trained workforce.”
Some health care degree programs are now at capacity, Luehrs-Wolfe said, prompting LSCS to plan for larger facilities, including a third floor on LSC-Tomball’s health science building and a new health care instructional building at LSC-Kingwood, both planned as part of the college system’s $485 million bond package approved by voters in 2014.
Additionally, a four-year degree program from LSCS could also be on the horizon for area students interested in nursing, said Amos McDonald, LSC vice chancellor of external affairs.
“Lone Star College is working with the Texas Legislature to allow it to offer baccalaureate degrees in nursing,” McDonald said. “There is a huge demand for health care workers, and allowing Lone Star College to offer four-year degrees in this field will help ensure our community has the ‘people power’ to keep up with the need.”
Future growth
Regardless of when the economy completely recovers, Jankowski said growth in the health care market will likely continue as the steady population increase shows no signs of slowing down.
“The data the Census Bureau released … showed Houston had just shy of 100,000 babies born [in 2016],” Jankowski said. “If you subtract the deaths from the births, you get what’s called the ‘natural increase’ of 65,000.”
In addition to a growing population the Greater Houston area is also experiencing increases in residents age 65 and older and a spike in births contributing to the growth in the health care industry in the region.[/caption]
Factored into the net population growth of 10.9 percent and 18 percent over the past five years for Harris and Montgomery counties, respectively, the area will continue to see a need for more health care services in the years to come, according to the GHP.
“As long as mankind is around, health care will be a strong field,” Jankowski said.
