HARRISBURG, PA (August 23, 2023) The Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) has teamed up with valued partners to successfully submit a regional Federal Tech Hub application.
The Tech Hub program, established under the CHIPS and Science Act, aims to cultivate high-tech employment opportunities in cities across the nation. These hubs are envisioned to fuel innovation, research, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship, driving growth in communities nationwide. For the 19 counties in South-Central PA much of Central PA, this initiative is an opportunity to enhance economic potential, drive technological progress, and elevate our region’s global competitiveness.
The application establishes the Keystone Healthcare Resilience Consortium (KHRC) and seeks strategy development funding to establish the region as a Tech Hub at the intersection of advanced communication and medical technologies to improve healthcare delivery. McKinsey & Company (2020) estimates that poor health costs the US economy about $3.2 trillion each year. A disproportionate part of this burden is borne by Americans living in rural areas and urban “healthcare deserts.” Almost a quarter of Pennsylvania’s population resides in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area. By bridging these technologies, the hub would provide a fertile ground for cross-disciplinary innovation, enabling the rapid development of telehealth solutions, wearable medical devices, real-time health monitoring systems, and other groundbreaking applications.
CREDC expresses its appreciation to Michele Washko, CEO of Life Sciences Greenhouse Investments, and Kevin Harter, Chief Innovation Officer at Penn State College of Medicine, who, through their in-depth knowledge and experience led the charge for this application. CREDC would also like to express thanks to their partners, supporters, and the community for sharing and pursuing this vision. Whether or not the application is awarded funding, this exercise of collaborative priority setting is a successful outcome of the South-Central PA Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) which was newly recognized by the EDA earlier this year. Together, paving the way for a brighter, more innovative future.
Partners and Supporters include, but are not limited to: Albright College, Adams Economic Alliance, Berks County Department of Community & Economic Development, Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation, Dauphin County Department of Community & Economic Development, Economic Development Company of Lancaster County, Emerald Asset Management, Franklin County Area Development Corporation, Geisinger Health System, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harristown Enterprises, Inc., Hospital Association of PA, Lebanon Valley Economic Development, Life Sciences Greenhouse Investments, MANTEC, Manufacturers’ Association, Mifflin County Industrial Development Corporation, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State University Center for Supply Chain Research, Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Pennsylvania Telephone Association, Perry County Economic Development Authority, SEDA-COG, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., US Senator Robert P. Casey, WellSpan Health, Technology Council of Central PA, and York County Economic Alliance.
