Health Care and One Gig Fiber mean everything in opportunities for us. Over 200 people work in that field that live in Quitman. The write-up below gives the importance of recent legislation. Significance of a Health Care Industry Zone Master Plan and HB 1582 In a Mississippi where HB1582 is the law, the purpose of a Health Care Zone Master Plan is in its most basic form a necessary step in becoming eligible for economic development incentives for health care related projects from the Mississippi Development Authority (i.e., communities that plan will be eligible for a health care zone grant, a health care zone revolving loan, health care zone job training grant, the health care zone advantage jobs incentive, state new market tax credits only allowed for use in communities with master plans, and communities with health care zone master plans can issue bonds for qualified health care projects). What do health care zone master plans do? These plans take detailed looks at existing assets and economic-demographic conditions, create a physical framework master plan for health care industry development, and provide detailed recommendations and strategies for implementing the plan and growing the local health care industry. The process begins by taking a look at existing community assets, in the health care realm. This “asset mapping” process identifies and examines major community nodes, medical facilities, educational assets, and industrial parks etc., to produce a picture of the community as it exists today. During this process, the health care zone master plan team also looks at any prior or existing planning efforts or studies such as a community’s comprehensive plan, downtown plan, and/or economic development plan to fuel the health care zone master plan. A health care zone master plan also identifies several examples of health care driven development models pertinent to the individual community and presents case studies of these to raise awareness of best practices across the industry. This initial phase also includes interviews and meetings with local leaders from the city, county, hospital, the local economic development organization, and higher-ed institutions to develop an understanding of existing conditions and ongoing strategies for community and economic development. A market analysis is then conducted that analyzes existing employment in health care, life science, other major sectors to produce a picture of where the city is most specialized (i.e., the community’s identity), where it can be most competitive, and where there is the most room for growth. Based on this analysis, an economic impact assessment is prepared and it projects employment in specific health care industry sub-categories and accounts for direct and indirect economic impacts of health care and life science job growth to the community as a whole. After initial analysis and meetings with community leaders, health care zone master plans identify potential mini-health care industry zones within the 5-mile radius with input from local leadership. These are areas where the community would be best suited to target development because of existing employment clusters, strategic location, or existing investments in infrastructure or site planning. Once these areas have been identified, the health care zone master plan illustrates conceptual land use and development configuration, and make recommendations for scale and nature of development. This typically includes categories for health care and life science uses, mixed use, and housing, etc. Finally, the health care zone master plan provides recommendations for implementation of a health care economic development strategy. This will include recommendations for land use regulations, incentive programs, marketing, workforce development etc., and breaks down responsibility for specific items among local entities and leaders. We are there now, and ready for growth.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:47:23 +0000