CIEDA expands BRE Program to healthcare sector

March 31, 2022

Despite the challenging economic climate, 2021 was a year of growth for our community. A majority of the new job creation throughout Rogers County over the past year has been a result of existing company expansion. More than 80 percent of job growth in a community comes from its established industries. In 2018, CIEDA developed a formal business retention and expansion (BRE) program, focusing on the area’s growing manufacturing sector.

Over the past four years, our team has had the opportunity to refine and streamline these efforts. As we kick off a new year, with new goals and exciting prospects on the horizon, our staff will once again be restructuring this vital program. While we will continue our mission to support and serve our industrial partners, CIEDA’s BRE initiative will expand with a strategic focus on the region’s growing healthcare sector.

Healthcare remains one of our state’s most critical occupations, and this vital industry is only projected to grow in the coming years. Claremore is home to two regional hospital facilities, numerous medical offices, clinics, and other service providers whose focus and mission is the well-being of our community. Our staff looks forward to connecting with our partners in this crucial but often overlooked field and learning more about the workforce, development and other business needs of our healthcare partners.

The importance of a robust healthcare system has only been emphasized in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses looking to relocate to Northeast Oklahoma want to know that our community has the healthcare infrastructure to ensure the health and safety of its employees. Additionally, it plays a significant component in our region’s overall quality of life and workforce attraction efforts. Claremore serves as Rogers County’s healthcare hub and the continued growth and development of this sector is crucial for our region’s long-term economic success.

Another component of the BRE expansion will be connecting with and learning from educational partners who support the healthcare industry. Both Rogers State University and Northeast Tech offer world-class programs and serve as regional leaders providing a high-quality talent pool to medical facilities across the state.

We are excited to formally launch this new component of our BRE initiative in the second quarter. While our team will hit the ground running, we know that there is a lot of learning to be done on how we, as economic developers, can best support this vital sector. I look forward to spending the remainder of this year listening, absorbing, and refining our efforts.

As always, our team at CIEDA remains committed to serving as a support and resource to our local businesses. Our services are always free and have no cost to companies. If there is anything myself or our team can ever do to assist your business, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here and ready to help!

Wishing you a year of growth,

Jordan White
Business Development Specialist