Overview of the Economy

HEALTHCARE

Healthcare and Social Services is the largest industry sector in the SECT EDD, employing 20,905 people and marking it as a primary focus for seCTer. The industry has only a -0.3 percent predicted annual growth rate which is one of the lowest in the region. As consolidations and re-alignments among system providers stabilize, new opportunities to grow the cluster will emerge and take hold. In light of the shortage of healthcare workers, workforce training, recruitment and retention are keys to the economic future of this vital sector in the regional economy.

Within the last five to seven years, consolidations within the larger hospital networks have brought Yale New Haven Healthcare and Hartford Health to the region. As a result, the number of satellite, urgent and convenient care clinics have increased (Figure 22).

Demographics within SECT are trending older and elder care is an increasing need. Through the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy (OWS), seCTer has formed a Healthcare Regional Sector Partnership with Three Rivers Community College focusing on workforce demand. Healthcare has been identified as a priority sector for workforce development in the coming years.

Major hospitals in SECT and surrounding area are:

  • Backus Hospital, 213 beds, part of Hartford HealthCare
  • Lawrence + Memorial Hospital (L+M), 308 beds, part of Yale New Haven Health
  • Hartford HealthCare Centers, various
  • Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center, Waterford, part of Yale New Haven Health

L+M’s triennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), prepared in collaboration with community partners, guides its collective work toward advancing health equity and identifies priorities for future planning and funding so that all residents can benefit from community 

resources. The 2022 CHNA priority areas identified for the next three years are: affordable healthcare, behavioral health, drug/alcohol misuse, education, financial security, food security, and housing (2022_Lawrence_Memorial_CHNA_CHIP.pdf).

Hartford HealthCare operates the Women’s Health Center at Windham Hospital. The center offers reproductive health, family planning, breast health and gynecology services. Regarding the latter, the Center provides a full range of gynecological services to patients, and also provides prenatal care for pregnant patients, who then deliver at Backus Hospital. In FY22, 74 patients of the Center delivered babies at Backus (Windham Women’s Health Center Continues to Grow | Backus Hospital | CT).