HAGERSTOWN, MD — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today held a Health Care Career Expo at Hagerstown Community College to connect Marylanders with jobs in the health care field, which is an area of high-paying salaries and expected strong job growth nationwide.

Maryland is one of the nation’s leaders in health care, currently employing more than 290,000 Marylanders in the health care industry. The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board estimates that by 2018 more than 55,000 new jobs in the health care field in Maryland will be needed.   

“We know in Maryland that the health care field is a growth industry that needs well-trained, highly skilled workers,” said Senator Cardin.  “My goal in holding this Health Care Career Expo is to ensure that the residents of Western Maryland have an opportunity to learn about the training and education they need to pursue careers in the health care field and to find out about the jobs that are available now.”

“The Chamber is excited about working with Senator Cardin on the health care job fair.  For businesses, health care has become a policy issue and a bottom line issue.  In Washington County, medicine, research, and the delivery of care have become a focus both of economic development and education.  This event at HCC enables Senator Cardin to bring workers who have important know-how together with the employers who need their skills,” said Brien Poffenberger, President Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

The Health Care Career Expo provided hundreds of Western Maryland residents looking for careers in the health care field with access to employers, career counseling, résumé preparation and information on educational and training programs. Approximately 30 exhibitors participated in the Expo, including leading health care providers such as Meritus Health, Frederick Regional Health System, Adventist Health Care and Tri-State Community Health Center, along with home health agencies, the Department of Labor and Licensing and Hagerstown Community College and University System of Maryland, among many others.