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Baltimore-Towson, MD

Baltimore-Towson, MD
Q4 2010 – Market Summary



The near term demand for health care workers in the Baltimore metro area held steady and strong during Q4. Of particular note during the quarter: Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States announced plans to build a 200,000-square-foot medical center in Baltimore County that house a surgical facility, physicians offices and other outpatient services and serve about 60,000 members in its first year, and Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center opened a new $417 million 700,000-square-foot downtown tower that includes 259 private inpatient rooms and 15 operating rooms.

On a comparative basis, the Baltimore health care labor market held strong during Q4 as described by its Q4 LMPI score of 51.8, up 1% from the prior quarter and above the national composite of 49.8.

Q4 Workforce Announcements



XLHealth to ramp up hiring in 2011, December 17, 2010
Baltimore’s XLHealth plans to hire during the next year. The company, which offers seniors a custom-made insurance plan called Medicare Advantage, intends to hire between 150 and 200 doctors and nurse practitioners to help care for many of XLHealth’s 91,000 customers in Maryland, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas. Meanwhile, XLHealth likely will hire another six to 10 employees in Baltimore to help administer the revamped HouseCalls program.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/2010/12/xlhealth-to-ramp-up-hiring-in-2011.html

Holy Cross wins major victory in pursuit of new hospital, December 17, 2010
Holy Cross Hospital won a major victory Friday in its multiyear effort to build a new hospital in northern Montgomery County. The Maryland Health Care Commission recommended that the full board grant permission to Holy Cross to construct a 93-bed hospital on the campus of Montgomery College in Germantown. At the same time, rejecting a competing application from Adventist HealthCare of Rockville to build an 86-bed facility in Clarksburg.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2010/12/17/holy-cross-wins-major-victory-in.html

Mercy to open $417M hospital tower Dec. 19, December 8, 2010
Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center will open its new $417 million hospital tower, the Mary Catherine Bunting Center, on Dec. 19 to patients. The 700,000-square-foot downtown tower houses 259 private inpatient rooms, 15 operating rooms, and enclosed bridge connecting the new hospital to the Bunting garage, a skywalk atrium and three rooftop gardens. As Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore prepares to opens its new hospital building in December, it’s hiring for over 140 positions to staff the new and old facilities.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2010/12/09/mercy-to-open-417m-hospital-tower.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/2010/11/at-mercy-a-new-hospital-needs-new.html

City to give Sinai Hospital $400,000 of land for free. October 27, 2010
Baltimore City’s spending board voted Wednesday to give $400,000 worth of land to Sinai Hospital of Baltimore Inc. free of charge to make way for the hospital’s planned expansion. Sinai, part of LifeBridge Health, plans to build a 918,600-square-foot expansion on the property. The new facility is expected to create 220 construction jobs and another 461 permanent jobs.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2010/10/27/city-gives-400000-of-land-to-sinai.html

Franklin Square Hospital unveils $175M patient tower. October 27, 2010
Franklin Square Hospital Center unveiled Wednesday a new seven-story $175 million patient tower. The 356,000-square-foot building features an expanded emergency department, intensive care unit and a private room facility.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2010/10/27/franklin-square-hospital-opens-175m.html

Kaiser Permanente planning new medical center in Baltimore Co. October 22, 2010
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States plans to build a more than 200,000-square-foot medical center in Baltimore County. The center will house a surgical facility, physicians offices and other outpatient services and will serve about 60,000 members of Kaiser’s HMO insurance plan in the Baltimore area in its first year. In its project proposal, Kaiser noted its recent increase in membership as its reason for expansion in the Baltimore area.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2010/10/22/kaiser-permanente-planning-new-medical.html

Previous market news

Hospitals and Health Systems

Source: US News & World Report

Education Program Expansions and Closures

College of Notre Dame to offer nursing degrees. October 13, 2010
The College of Notre Dame of Maryland will begin offering its first undergraduate bachelor of science nursing degree program in the fall 2011.
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/10/11/daily27.html

Education Programs

Source: The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

Health of the Local Economy

Lower home ownership rates reduce the impact of home price fluctuations and increase the willingness of healthcare employees to relocate for better job opportunities. Below are home ownership rates for the overall Baltimore-Towson, MD market.

Source: www.census.gov accessed 1/5/2011

The recent rising unemployment rates create new demands for health services. Higher unemployment shifts the mix away from higher margin procedures to more primary care in the emergency room and critical care for conditions that should have been treated early at a primary care physician. In general, rising unemployment also reduces turnover and engagement of employed workers, while low unemployment tends to increase intra market churn. Below are unemployment rates for the overall Baltimore-Towson, MD market.

Source: www.bls.gov accessed 1/5/2011

Additional Factors Influencing HWS Labor Market PulseTM Index

  • U.S. Census Bureau Population 2,667,117, #20 largest market
  • U.S. Census Bureau Population #121 oldest market
  • U.S. Census Bureau Population Growth 4.5%, #235 fastest growing market
   

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