As Long Island ages, medical sector jobs increase

The graying of Long Island, and the addition of new federal health care regulations, will mean more jobs in the medical sector, economists and health care officials say.

Health care is already a major job producer on the Island. It grew by 25 percent from 2000 to mid-2009, accounting last year for 13 percent of Long Island employment and $8 billion in wages, according to the Long Island Association. It was Long Island's only private sector industry to generate jobs during the recession - adding 6,709 between 2007 and mid-2009. The entire educational and health services sector is expected to grow to 17.1 percent of the Island's job market by 2035. That would make it the second-largest employer after business and professional services.

More primary-care doctors

Industry leaders say they'll need more primary-care providers - physicians such as internists, as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants - a major shift anticipated under the health reform legislation. Also expected to be in demand: physical or occupational therapists; medical and lab technicians, and - while not counted as health workers - information-tech workers to keep up with increasing demand for computerized medical records.

"I think the two drivers are going to be the health care reform changes in the marketplace and delivery systems, and the other is the aging population on Long Island," said Dr. Steven Walerstein, executive vice president for medical affairs at Nassau University Medical Center, the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, four family health centers and a school-based clinic.

Over the next 15 years, the country faces a shortage of more than 125,000 doctors in general, partly fueled by the anticipated retirement of a third of practicing physicians, the Long Island Association report said. At least 16,000 more primary-care physicians are needed today, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

"I think the demand for primary-care services is going to explode, and if you . . . have any training in that area, you are going to be in demand," said Arthur A. Gianelli, president and chief executive of the Nassau Health Care Corp.

That means that nurse practitioners and physician assistants more and more will fill the role of primary-care providers in the future, said Kevin Dahill, who heads the Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council.

Positions like physical or occupational therapist also will grow in demand, as health care systems focus on providing care outside of the hospital and helping an aging population to live independently rather than in a long-term-care facility, experts said. Also, as more people become insured and live longer, demand will rise for jobs such as medical and lab technologists who assist in diagnosing diseases. About 26 percent of the Island's population is 55 or older now; that's expected to rise to 28 percent by 2030.

One challenge to producing more primary-care physicians is the high cost of a medical education and the lure of much higher pay as a specialist, health care experts said. Medical students now graduate with upward of $150,000 in loans. In addition, Long Island's high cost of living also makes it difficult for local health institutions to draw primary-care physicians.

"Making internal medicine and primary care an attractive career choice for the medical school graduate" is a key goal for Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, the new dean of Stony Brook University's medical school. "Is there a way to make medical school more affordable? Are there payback systems we can begin to explore?"

Meanwhile, nursing homes face two problems. New federal health care legislation is expected to continue the push to keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes - which are more expensive - and living on their own. At the same time, state cuts have home health care agencies and nursing homes worrying about how they will stay afloat.

"I don't think nursing homes are going to grow," said Larry Slatky, administrator for the Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale.

"I don't see more jobs; I see more specialization," he said.

Health care and education

Economists count health jobs in the same category as educational service positions. While health care jobs make up a larger portion of the growth in this category and are expected to continue to do so, education jobs, particularly at Long Island's colleges and universities, are also expected to contribute growth to the sector. And beyond employing professors, these institutions generate research and technology jobs for Long Island's economy.

Meanwhile, completely outside the sector, the move to electronic medical records - spurred by federal stimulus money - has generated business and jobs for the information technology industry. Those workers will be needed to set up these systems, train medical staff and maintain and upgrade the systems.

"Not only technology folks, but statisticians to analyze the data will be in demand," said Steven Strongwater, chief executive of Stony Brook University Medical Center.