Room to grow for Hudson Valley’s health care industry

Rapidly evolving medical technology is changing the health care industry, and the business opportunities associated with it, at a rapid pace. This technology is moving seamlessly from the classroom to the examining room to the bedroom, with many experts foreseeing numerous opportunities for patients to receive enhanced care without leaving their homes, reducing their need to return to the hospital.

The Hudson Valley has a growing number of these business success stories. For example, Middletown-based Nexus Health Resources (NHR) ensures coordinated, quality health care for patients during the all-important transition period from hospital to home in order to decrease avoidable and costly readmissions. Co-founded by Dr. Virginia Feldman, her firm is deploying proprietary care transition software as it works closely with a wide variety of health care providers to ensure their clients have access to the local services they require.

Dr. Feldman”™s work serves as a great example of the wave of entrepreneurism arising out of a changing health care landscape right here in the Hudson Valley. While industry experts do not always agree on what the delivery of health care will look like in the future, many are predicting a world in which more physicians are also entrepreneurs, developing products and services that improve care delivery worldwide. In addition, there may be even more growth in the home health care sector than we are already experiencing, given the advances in technology.

With changes occurring so quickly, it will be critically important for public and private high schools, community colleges and universities to invest in programs, instructors, advanced technology and new teaching methodologies that will shape the next generation of health care professionals.

This will be the focus of the upcoming 2nd annual Hudson Valley EDs & MEDs Summit: Room to Grow, part of Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp.”™s Thought Leaders Master Series. The March 14 event at Marist College in Poughkeepsie will examine the idea that the future of health care is wide-open and the entrepreneurs and business owners who are innovating now will likely change the industry for the long term.

At HVEDC, we”™ve recognized an opportunity to approach these important issues from a business perspective. After all, the Hudson Valley is home to many innovative health care organizations at all levels of the spectrum ”“ from smaller home health care agencies to massive regional campuses ”“ and their collective, positive impact on the area economy will be felt for years to come.

That”™s why the Room to Grow panel discussion will include Dr. Feldman and 10 other industry leaders from the regional health care community, colleges and universities, home health care providers and other key partners, so attendees can gain insights from many different facets.

Several academic professionals from postsecondary institutions will share their insights on how regional community colleges and major four-year institutions will continue to serve as the backbone of the health care industry, despite the challenges posed by changes in technology and the profession overall. Representatives from several health care providers will focus on making for a more seamless transition for patients between the hospital room to the home, ensuring that both the initial handoff and short- and long-term care is as efficient and effective as possible.

Health care providers are incorporating more technology and emerging best practices to improve the level and efficiency of care they deliver to their patients. These changes are impacting organizations from the bottom up, influencing their hiring processes, employee training and the background and training they look for in new hires. This all amounts to significant investments that go beyond technology and affect nearly every aspect of a hospital”™s or clinic”™s operations.

The summit also will feature keynote speaker Michael Dunn, senior vice president for innovation development at Georgia Pacific, a company that”™s developing devices to monitor hygienic practices at hospitals and clinics. Dunn will share his thoughts on how predictive analysis will impact the future of the industry, with companies like GP combining and examining data to predict consumer needs and provide more effective alerts to the public when a health outbreak is imminent.

The bottom line is that health care is changing. There are business opportunities, and the Hudson Valley is ripe to take advantage of them.

Laurence P. Gottlieb is president and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. in New Windsor. He can be reached at lgottlieb@hvedc.com. To register for Room to Grow, visit eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-hudson-valley-eds-meds-summit-room-to-grow-tickets-30538387138.