In the biggest expansion in the 50-year history of the nursing program at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a $77 million Health Sciences building is taking shape to help train more nurses for Chattanooga’s growing health care industry.
“Moving forward with this new building is a transformational event in the life of the School of Nursing, the faculty, staff and — most importantly — the students,” says Chris Smith, the director of UTC’s School of Nursing and the University’s chief health affairs officer. “This facility will enable us to expand our enrollment capacity by more than 150%, which is critically important given our role in preparing practice-ready nurses.”
Even with a half dozen nursing programs at Chattanooga area colleges and universities, Smith says the school expansion is needed to meet the nursing demands in and around the Chattanooga area. By the fall of 2026, UTC expects to be able to boost enrollment in its bachelor’s of nursing program from the current level of 230 up to 512 students.
The expansion of the UTC nursing school reflects the growth and importance of health care employment in Chattanooga, where six of the city’s 15 biggest employers are either health care providers or insurers, according to the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce’s list of the biggest regional employers.
As home to Tennessee’s biggest health insurer, the world’s biggest disability insurer and three major hospital networks, nearly one of every six jobs in metropolitan Chattanooga is tied to health care. Nearly 15% of the jobs in the six-county Chattanooga metro area are in health care and social assistance and nearly 10,000 other local jobs involve insurance payments for health-related services from major employers like BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Unum and Cigna, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As the largest private employer, Erlanger alone needs to hire about 800 new workers every year. Erlanger Marketing Director Christine Brackett Gordon says the hospital works with local colleges and universities to ensure academic curriculum aligns with industry needs and Erlanger actively collaborates with local high schools to introduce and promote healthcare career choices for students.
“The demand for skilled health care professionals continues to grow in the Chattanooga region, and it’s our responsibility to not only meet that demand but also to create meaningful pathways for individuals seeking careers in healthcare,” says Wendy Fournet, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Erlanger. “By investing in education, training, and workforce development programs, Erlanger is not only addressing our staffing needs but also contributing to the long-term economic vitality of Chattanooga.”
Contributed photo / Wendy FournetAnother one of Chattanooga’s biggest private employers, health insurer BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee, employs more than 6,000 people, and hiring technology workers is “a longstanding focus” for the company, according to BlueCross’s Chief Human Resources Officer Roy Vaughn. To help supply its talent needs, BlueCross partnered with East Tennessee State University in 2021 to create the BlueSky Institute degree program at its Chattanooga campus. The program expects to have nearly 90 students enrolled by this summer to help supply more computer programmers and IT specialists.
“We’re always looking at ways to enhance our customer service talent pipeline — finding and developing the right people to serve and support our members will always be important,” Vaughn says.
Many of the most skilled jobs in health care also are among the top-paying jobs in Chattanooga. Among 496 occupations listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nine of the top 10 paying jobs and 12 of the 20 highest-paying jobs in all of metropolitan Chattanooga are in health care field.
But most health care jobs — and those most in demand — are generally not among the highest paying jobs. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development says the biggest in-demand occupation over the next decade is for registered nurses with an annual demand for 440 new registered nurses in metro Chattanooga, who are paid a median salary of $57,351. Additionally, the state forecasts Chattanooga needs another 95 medical and health service managers, 65 more nurse practitioners and 55 healthcare social workers every year. Such occupations have median pay ranging from $53,103 to $104,646.
The Chattanooga area does not have any medical colleges, but the region is home to more than a half dozen nursing schools with nursing training at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Lee University, Bryan College, Chattanooga State Community College, Cleveland State Community College, Dalton State College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College.
Both UTC and Chattanooga State Community College say they each have a placement rate of more than 98% for their nursing and other health care field graduates and demand for such workers continues to grow.
In its occupational outlook report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in heath care jobs will continue to outpace the overall economy.
“Overall employment in health care occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033,” the BLS reported last year. “About 1.9 million openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently.”
Highest-paying jobs in metro Chattanooga
Among 496 occupations listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nine of the top 10 paying jobs are in healthcare.
1. Cardiologists – $546,750, up 2.7% from the previous year
2. Anesthesiologists – $403,440, up 12.9% from the previous year.
3. Neurologists – $380,680, up 6.8% from the previous year
4. Obstetricians & gynecologists – $368,360, up 16.3% from the previous year
5. Physicians – $318,290, up 4.7% from the previous year
6. Internal medicine physicians – $301,580, up 12.7% from the previous year
7. Family medicine physicians – $249,570, up 7.6% from the previous year
8. Chief executives – $211,390, up 4.3% from the previous year
9. Nurse anesthetists – $196,140, up 2.2% from the previous year
10. Dentists – $175,020, up 5.8% from the previous year
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational wage survey for May 2023.
Chattanooga’s biggest health care employers
In Chattanooga, six of the 15 biggest employers last year were either hospitals or insurance companies related to healthcare.
1. Erlanger Health System – 6,980 employees
2. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee – 6,621 employees
3. CHI Memorial – 4,741 employees
4. Unum Group – 2,685 employees
5. Parkridge Medical Center -1,883 employees
6. Cigna Healthcare – 1,581 employees
Source: Major Employers List, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. List reflects number of full- and part-time employees in Chattanooga at each company.
