The FAMU College of Dental Medicine will create nearly 2,100 short-term jobs in the Florida Panhandle during its initial development. After that, its annual operation will sustain about 1,000 new well-paying jobs in the region on a permanent basis.Over a ten year period, the development and operation of FAMU’s dental school will result in 3,127 short-term or sustained jobs in the Panhandle and a total of $775M in economic activity.
The economic activity figure includes the money for construction of the education facilities, annual operations, student living expenses, and visitor expenses.
These job creation and economic impact projections, which come from FAMU’s dental school proposal, were developed using the input-output methodology and economic multipliers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
FAMU’s dental educational delivery program will create jobs through its focus on expanding the Panhandle’s dental safety net system, which consists of the Federally Qualified Health Centers and County Health Department Clinics that serve low-income patients. About 65 to 75 percent of the cost for the work done by these safety net clinics is subsidized by non-State sources such as the federal government.
Through its dental training operation, FAMU will help these safety net clinics increase their respective capacities. FAMU’s advanced dental students, residents, and professors will treat patients at these sites. This will open the way for about 100,000 additional men and women to receive care and create new jobs for the region.
As the safety net clinics expand and current dentists retire, FAMU will become the top source for new dentists at these centers. FAMU will use a targeted recruitment program and a low tuition rate to help enroll students who are likely to work in such facilities after they earn their degrees.
Medicaid dentists employed by safety net clinics will find it easier to make a living than those in private practices. According to FAMU’s proposal: “These safety net clinics receive higher Medicaid reimbursement rates from the State than private practitioners, and they receive federal grants. Further, they are paid per visit rather than per service. As a result, most are able to provide basic dental services to low-income patients.”
The Florida Panhandle region that will be serviced by FAMU’s dental school consists of the following 22 counties: Leon, Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.