Harrisburg-based Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) said Tuesday it had teamed up with a number of organizations to submit an application for the 19-county South Central and Central Pennsylvania area to become a regional federal Tech Hub.
Established under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Tech Hub program is designed to cultivate high-tech employment opportunities in cities throughout the country that will drive innovation, research, manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Officials said the program is an opportunity to enhance the region’s economic potential, drive technological progress and increase the region’s competitiveness on a global level.
The application establishes the Keystone Healthcare Resilience Consortium (KHRC) and would work to develop funding that would establish the region as an advanced communication and medical technologies Tech Hub focused on improving healthcare delivery.
Poor healthcare costs the U.S. economy about $3.2 trillion per year, according to McKinsey & Company, and a disproportionate part of those costs are passed on to Americans living in rural areas and urban “healthcare desserts.”
By bridging the technologies, the hub would accelerate cross-disciplinary innovation, enable development of telehealth solutions, wearable medical devices, real-time health monitoring systems and other applications.
Partners to CREDC include: 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, Franklin County Area Development Corporation, Geisinger Health System, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Hospital Association of PA, Lebanon Valley Economic Development, 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, WellSpan Health, Technology Council of Central PA, and York County Economic Alliance.