Northshore Healthscape

Northshore Healthscape logotype.

Healthcare is a major economic driver on the Northshore, in terms of both jobs and productivity, contributing more than $1.5 billion to the three-parish GDP. The industry represents 22,000 jobs in the area, and demand continues with 5,000 unique postings for jobs in the past 12 months. Projections indicate that jobs in this sector will increase by 11% by 2026. As population grows across the Northshore, local healthcare leaders have expanded services to improve access to care closer to home. As a result, patients generally do not have to travel long distances for the care that they or their families need. Northshore healthcare institutions need a talented and skilled workforce qualified to provide these enhanced services, so educating and training the next generation of talent is paramount.

In February 2021, St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation launched the St. Tammany Healthcare Leadership Roundtable, another proactive step for economic development to engage a key economic driver in our economy—the healthcare industry—in a robust, collaborative and solutions-focused facilitated dialogue. These quarterly virtual roundtable meetings are an opportunity to discuss strategic priorities for collaboration, workforce development and talent retention. As the engagement evolved, there was a clear desire among partners to formalize this collaborative effort.

In February 2022, St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation presented the concept of a three-year healthcare sector pilot program, “Northshore Healthscape: A Collaborative Enhancing the Pulse of our Regional Healthcare Economy”. Recognizing the opportunities, challenges, and needs of our healthcare ecosystem, the priority areas of work for the pilot program are capacity building, workforce and talent, ecosystem development, and strategic implementation. St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation serves as the coordinator and project manager for this comprehensive sector strategy implementation. The executive representatives of the following entities confirm their commitment to Northshore Healthscape and their participation in this initiative through both financial and human capital contributions. The three-year pilot program and partner participation is evaluated on an annual basis. To read the full press release on the Northshore Healthscape launch, click here.

Key deliverables achieved in the first program year of the pilot program included the completion of a healthcare infrastructure assessment conducted by VisionFirst Advisors, tangible efforts to address immediate and short-term workforce and talent needs and engaging in collaborative regional programming to share about the initiative and discuss current and new education opportunities. Two specific workforce development initiatives launched by Northshore Technical Community College in response to feedback from both the Northshore Healthscape steering committee and broader healthcare industry partners include:

Northshore Technical Community College’s Psychiatric Technician program

Beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, NTCC launched Louisiana’s first dual enrollment practical nursing program for high school students in partnership with St. Tammany Parish Public Schools 

The second program year deliverables of the pilot program include:

  • Production of a State of the Sector | Industry Report
  • Telling the Story | Collective education and awareness of the healthcare industry with an emphasis on the collaborative efforts of Northshore Healthscape.
  • Establishing the Regional Partner Network
  • Innovation, Research and Development
  • Workforce and Talent Development
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To develop the industry impact report, St. Tammany Corporation engaged Economic Leadership LLC, a consulting firm with extensive experience in economic impact analysis and industry sector reviews. This report provides data and trends for policymakers, employers, the media, and the economic development community to understand the scope of the healthcare industry on the Northshore and its impact to the regional economy. Northshore Healthscape is pleased to share the 2024 State of the Northshore Healthcare Industry Report.

State of the Sector Report
Northshore Healthscape Steering Committee