Addressing Health Care Worker Shortages and Economic Growth in Southern Dallas
Texas needs more health care workers. Dallas wants to get more of its residents into well-paying jobs. The University of North Texas at Dallas thinks its new science, technology, engineering and math center, which will train students for medical careers, can help solve both problems in southern Dallas. By preparing more local students for high-demand, high-wage jobs, the development marks an investment in southern Dallas’ health care and economic growth, local leaders say.
The New STEM Center
The $100 million space, where students will begin taking classes next month, will offer an accelerated pathway in pharmacy, meaning students can join the workforce faster and cheaper. A new dual-degree program in public health and nursing, in collaboration with UNT Health, could graduate its first class by 2031, laying the groundwork for a labor pool for nearby facilities, such as the Dallas VA Hospital and the UT Southwestern Medical Center at RedBird.
Health Care Worker Shortages in Texas
Health systems across Texas are struggling to find enough workers, such as nurses and physician assistants, to care for an aging population. By 2032, North Texas is expected to see an estimated shortage of over 15,000 nurses, according to state data. State leaders and universities are trying to fill shortages with sweeping investments in health care education and workforce development.
Racial Disparities in the Workforce
The need for quality health care is more pronounced in southern Dallas, where residents face higher rates of chronic disease and lower life expectancy compared with the rest of the county. A majority of hospitals and doctors are in the northern half of Dallas, above Interstate 30. UNT Dallas’ development comes as local leaders prioritize solving racial disparities in the city’s workforce, particularly in southern Dallas, where the campus is located. Dallas officials want to lift more families out of poverty by getting residents into better-paying jobs.
Investing in Homegrown Talent
For Lynn McBee, Dallas’ workforce czar, the new STEM building represents an investment in “homegrown talent,” an approach she has prioritized since she began leading the city’s job growth efforts in 2022. UNT Dallas serves more than 3,500 students, 70% of whom are the first in their family to go to college. Around 93% of its current students grew up in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“More people having access to careers that are in high demand, that are sustainable living wages and that they might not have opportunities to otherwise is exciting,” McBee said. “We’ve got to lean on our institutions of higher education to help us fill these workforce shortages.”
Expansion and Economic Growth
The expansion adds 18 classrooms and 12 laboratories to the campus, as well as more faculty and staff offices and over $1 million in new equipment. Samantha Cadena, a junior from Oak Cliff studying biology and chemistry, said the new space means more hands-on training as she applies to physician assistant school.
Local leaders are hoping the university’s expansion builds momentum for the economic growth happening in the historically underserved region. At a ceremony this month, state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who helped establish the university, said he wants the school to grow to 30,000 students and become one of the largest employers in Dallas. Von Eschenbach said he wants more dorms, a basketball arena and a business school building.
Future Prospects
Down the line, the school’s science programs and hands-on training could provide a pipeline for Dallas’ growing biotechnology and life sciences industry, said McBee, whose background is in biochemistry. She pointed to Pegasus Park, a life sciences campus with offices and laboratory centers that opened in 2022, and Colossal Bios
