Worcester Business Journal

F O C U S H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N H ealthcare jobs are projected to soar in the coming years, and it isn't just for doctors, nurses and other care providers. Administrative jobs are expected to rise, and a few new health administrative programs starting this school year at Central Massachusetts colleges are helping to meet the demand. Fitchburg State University has added an online MBA program in health administration, and Anna Maria College in Paxton has begun a health adminis- tration undergraduate degree program. It's no mystery why: Health administration jobs have been projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 20% from 2016 to 2026. at rate would add 72,000 jobs nationwide, and it's an even higher than the projected growth rate for registered nurses, whose number is estimated to rise 15% in that time. In Massachusetts, the median salary last year for a health administrator was $133,900, the third highest in the country and far surpassing the already-high national median of just under $100,000, according to the BLS. With more than 15,000 health admin- istrators in Massachusetts, the state has the highest concentration of such workers in the country. Health administrators will be needed to coordinate services or manage a medical practice or hospital unit, and programs like those at Anna Maria and Fitchburg State will help prepare students to know Training new healthcare bosses Fitchburg State and Anna Maria have gotten strong responses to new health administration majors BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor 14 Worcester Business Journal | September 2, 2019 | wbjournal.com Liz Manos, the director of business programs at Anna Maria College, which added a health administration bachelor's degree program this fall "We thought they have an edge because they have more of a background [in health] than someone just in business." Liz Manos, director of business programs, Anna Maria College PHOTO/ALLAN JUNG

• Cover