Sussex needs a medical school and workforce housing

How about a medical school in Delaware – especially in Sussex County – and housing projects for all who actually want to live where they work?

Lack of affordable or workforce housing and shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are just a couple of problems the Sussex Economic Development Action Committee continues to focus on. Things will not get better until these problems are addressed and solved. We have worked with the General Assembly and the hospitals to improve doctor recruitment programs, including the reimbursement programs for college expenses that make it so costly to become a doctor. The General Assembly put more funds into those programs and the stipulation that if you take Delaware’s tax dollars, you have a requirement to come to Delaware to practice. More work still needs to be done. Another idea about how to solve this crisis came from a speaker at a recent Sussex County Today and Tomorrow Conference. Dr. David A. Tam, president and CEO of Beebe Healthcare, suggested that maybe a medical school would help with recruitment and retention of medical professionals. As I sat there and listened, it became very apparent to me that this was a great idea, but with one little amendment. It should be in Sussex.  

Toward that end, SEDAC created a new committee to look into this possibility. Under the chairmanship of Chris Weeks and co-chair George Beckerman, the committee immediately went into action. In discussions with the three hospitals in Sussex, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, her staff and the University of Delaware, it became very obvious that the creation of a medical school is possible. SEDAC was asked to lead the way. We need an outside consultant to look into this issue and prepare a report that tells us if it is doable. That report would cost $100,000, just a little bit of change when SEDAC’s membership dues are $100 a year. Not to be deterred, our committee went to work. So far, the committee has raised almost $50,000 from our membership and the hospitals. We’ve made other requests, including to Sussex County Council, and we believe we will raise the funds necessary and proceed to answer this question once and for all. After all, who in Sussex can be against solving this problem? Let’s find out.

Now, what about workforce housing? Well, we have a committee working on that too. There is a shortage of 21,000 units just to house our existing population in Delaware. You would think people are supportive of providing homes that middle- and low- income families can afford, but that has never been the case. Just go to a planning & zoning hearing in Sussex County. Hopefully this is about to change. There are a number of nonprofits, for-profits, and state and county agencies that are proposing programs to address this need. That, in itself, could be a problem. SEDAC again is proposing a solution. Working with the Sussex County Association of Realtors and Delaware Tech, we have proposed this year’s Sussex County Today and Tomorrow Conference become a summit on housing. Our suggestion is the groups and individuals proposing solutions or those who are in opposition to housing join us that day to discuss this problem. When the day has ended, hopefully we will have produced a plan that will begin the process of allowing people to live where they work. We will attempt to determine how everybody’s efforts can be coordinated so a comprehensive plan of attack is developed, and we can all work toward a common goal. Egos and personalities will be put aside. We will create a plan in which we all can have a role. Join us at Del Tech Wednesday, Oct. 26, and let’s begin the process of becoming part of the solution.