The Healthcare Bioscience Development Corporation, d/b/a BioMed SA, was formed by San Antonio community and industry leaders during 2005 to build upon the city's impressive base of biomedical assets and raise its visibility nationally and beyond. This initiative was based on the realization that, despite the significant size of the local healthcare and bioscience industry and its importance to the local economy, San Antonio is not well recognized for its unique biomedical assets. The City of San Antonio, Bexar County and CPS Energy provided grants totaling $250,000 to launch BioMed SA as a non-profit corporation and public/private partnership. This was done at the request of Henry Cisneros and Joe Krier, representing The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. BioMed SA subsequently received tax-exempt status from the IRS as a 501(c)(6) organization. Following a nationwide search and selection process, Ann Stevens was hired from San Antonio's bioscience community as President, effective November 1, 2005. She and Director of Membership and Administrative Services, Donna Miller, constitute the initial staff.

BioMed SA is a non-profit, membership-based organization, supported in part by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.

"To organize and promote San Antonio's healthcare and bioscience assets to accelerate growth of the sector and enhance San Antonio's reputation as a city of science and health."

The size and scope of San Antonio's Healthcare and Bioscience industry is documented each year by The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce in a report written by Trinity University professors Dr. Richard Butler and Dr. Mary Stefl. The study is based on data from the Texas Workforce Commission's Covered Employment and Wages database and includes no multipliers. Highlights from the latest report, based on 2007 data, show:

• The Healthcare and Biosciences Industry continues as a dominant force in the San Antonio economy. Its economic impact in 2007 was $16.3 billion.
• The industry paid more than $4.8 billion in wages and salaries to 116,417 employees in 2007.
• One of every seven San Antonio employees works in the Healthcare and Bioscience Industry.
• The Healthcare and Bioscience industry has added over 23,000 net new jobs over the past decade.
• The average wage in the Healthcare and Bioscience industry is consistently higher than the San Antonio average.

For the full report, see: San Antonio Healthcare & Bioscience Industry Economic Impact in 2007 study

The availability of a skilled workforce is vital to the continued growth of San Antonio’s biomedical industry. To that end, BioMed SA works closely with industry executives, educators and workforce developers as part of the Healthcare and Bioscience Industry Workforce Cluster Initiative, launched in 2006 by Workforce Solutions - Alamo (formerly Alamo Work Source). The Steering Committee, chaired by BioMed SA President Ann Stevens, has been pursuing initiatives focused on addressing the nursing shortage and the growth of clinical research.

For more on healthcare and bioscience career opportunities, see Workforce Solutions - Alamo

www.workforcesolutionsalamo.org/industrymaps/default.asp

www.saworksforyou.com

San Antonio captures the spirit of Texas. Now the seventh largest city in the United States, the city has retained its sense of history and tradition, while carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress. The city has always been a crossroads and a meeting place. Sounds and flavors of Native Americans, Old Mexico, Germans, the Wild West, African-Americans and the Deep South mingle and merge. Close to twenty million visitors a year delight in the discovery of San Antonio's charm.

Learn more about San Antonio - visit the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/