LARGO, MD — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today held a Health Care Jobs Expo at Prince George’s Community College to connect Marylanders with jobs in the health care field. Maryland is one of the nation’s leaders in health care, currently employing more than 290,000 Marylanders in the health care industry.

The Affordable Care Act will bring approximately 30 million Americans – who currently have no health coverage — into our health care system by 2014.  The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board estimates that by 2018 more than 55,000 new jobs in the health care field in Maryland will be created to meet that need.    

“By 2014, the health care reform law will provide access to health care for 30 million Americans who currently have no health coverage,” said Senator Cardin.  “That need will translate into a growing demand for jobs, and the Health Care Career Expo will help ensure that we have the nurses and health care providers in place to meet the need Americans will have for health care services.”

“I am delighted to be part of this information session to promote health careers in Maryland.  In the near future Maryland and the nation will be facing significant shortages of health care workers, and this event will assist Maryland in getting a head start on filling those positions in a timely manner so that the citizens of Maryland continue to receive the highest possible level of care,” said Dr. Sandra Dunnington, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prince George’s Community College.”

“Between December 2007, the beginning of the most recent national recession and February 2011 Maryland’s health care and social assistance sector has added 23,700 private-sector jobs in Maryland. This is a growth of 7.7 percent during challenging economic times,” said Paulette Francois, Assistant Secretary of Workforce Development and Education, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations.

Saturday’s Health Care Career Expo provided approximately 300 people looking for careers in the health care field with access to employers, career counseling, résumé preparation and information on educational and training programs. There were approximately 50 exhibitors on hand, including representatives from the Washington Hospital Center, Dimensions Health and Doctors Community Hospital, along with home health agencies, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations, and area colleges, among others.   

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