Memphis Has High Density Of Health Care Jobs

Memphis has one of the highest densities of health care jobs in the nation, according to a new study.

Findings of the study by apartment listing service Abodo found that 63.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the Memphis metropolitan statistical area are in the health care practitioner and technician sectors, making Memphis No. 7 in density of health care jobs among the nation’s 25 largest cities.

Adobo’s study was released Wednesday, Sept. 28, and looked at jobs in the five fastest-growing occupation categories, calculated using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2012 to 2015.

Among the other categories, construction and extraction jobs garnered 29.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the Memphis MSA, while computers and mathematics accounted for 14.7 of 1,000. Community and social service jobs came it at 9.8 of every 1,000, while the arts, design, entertainment, sports and media sectors accounted for seven of 1,000.

Nashville also was listed among the cities with the highest densities of health care jobs. With a ratio of 63.9 out of 1,000 jobs, it came in at No. 6 on the list.

– Madeline Faber

Tri-State Reports Success Of Bank-a-Thon Campaign

Tri-State Bank of Memphis is reporting its inaugural Bank-a-Thon, a community outreach campaign last month to engage with and attract new customers, resulted in 294 new accounts totaling $1.1 million in new deposits.

The Bank-a-Thon included a series of events designed to increase awareness of its services, improve financial literacy among its target audiences, and empower consumers to recognize their individual and collective potential to drive economic growth in African-American communities, according to the bank.

Founded in 1946, Tri-State is the only black-owned bank in the city of Memphis. It is headquartered Downtown and has branches in Orange Mound and Whitehaven. The bank also serves customers in Northern Mississippi and Eastern Arkansas.

“Tri-State Bank has built financial relationships since 1946 and we remain committed to providing personalized service and financial solutions to meet the growing needs of an entire community,” CEO Thomas Felder said in a statement.

The bank reports that partnerships with other minority-led institutions, including the Southern Heritage Classic and the LeMoyne-Owen Community Development Corp., have shown success in building and maintaining relationships with its target consumers.

– Daily News staff

Agricenter Harvest Festival To Be Held Oct. 15

The annual Agricenter Harvest Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held at the Farmer’s Market Big Red Barn on Agricenter property, 7777 Walnut Grove Road, and is free to the public. Among the activities: pumpkin-painting, arts and crafts, hayrides, food, and entertainment by local bluegrass band Tennessee Ripple.

Some 40 volunteers are needed to help with the Harvest Festival. Visit agricenter.org/harvestfestival to sign up.

– Don Wade

U of M Women’s Basketball To Have 12 TV Games

The American Athletic Conference has announced its complete broadcast schedule for the 2016-17 basketball season, and the University of Memphis women’s basketball team will have 12 games broadcast, including one on ESPN2, two on ESPNU and four on ESPN3.

“This is probably the most challenging schedule that we have had in nine years,” said head coach Melissa McFerrin. “It is also likely the most exposure our program has had during that same time span.”

The league will produce 21 women’s basketball conference games throughout the season on the American Digital Network, including three in which Memphis will be competing. ADN games will air on www.theamerican.org/dn free of charge. The three Memphis games on the ADN are at Tulsa on Jan. 4, vs. Houston on Jan. 25, and at SMU on Jan. 31.

The Tigers begin their television schedule at home on Dec. 28, when Memphis hosts Vanderbilt on ESPNU. Immediately following the Vanderbilt game, the Tigers will host Temple in the conference opener at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Jan. 1. The game against the Owls will be on ESPN2. This will be the first game on ESPN2 since the 2001 season.

Against USF in Tampa on Jan. 21, the Tigers and the Bulls will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network. The home game against USF on Feb. 5 is the other slated ESPNU contest.

The four ESPN3 games for Memphis are at Temple on Jan. 21, at Tulane on Feb. 9, at Cincinnati on Feb. 18 and at home against Tulane in the regular season finale on Feb. 27. The game against UConn in Storrs, Conn. on Feb. 25 will be on SportsNet New York.

All games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through WatchESPN. And all home games not broadcasted by ESPN or the AND will be streamed live on gotigersgo.com.

– Don Wade

U of M Receives State Grant For Clean Energy Project

The University of Memphis has received a $242,500 Clean Tennessee Energy grant to support a major energy conservation project on campus.

The funding from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will be used to replace a 330-ton water cooled chiller in the Ned R. McWherter Library with a new high-efficiency chiller and convert the existing cooling tower to variable speed, optimizing the usage patterns of the chiller.

The existing chiller operates nonstop, and is approaching the end of its useful life, according to TDEC.

Project activities are estimated to reduce energy consumption by 345,215 kilowatt hours, reduce maintenance and energy costs by $31,879, and will eliminate 283 tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.

The project will be completed in 2017.

– Daily News staff

State Insurance Website Ranked Low for Helpfulness

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance website ranked second to last in a new study by NerdWallet that looked at consumer helpfulness in searching for auto, health, homeowners and life insurance information.

The study analyzed four categories – insurance rate comparisons, complaint data, consumer assistance and consumer education and resources – of the department of insurance, or DOI, websites for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Tennessee scored 29 percent, tied with Iowa, ahead of the nation’s worst DOI website in New Mexico (17 percent), according to the study.

Texas (98 percent), Kansas (93 percent) and Colorado (91 percent) had the most helpful websites for consumers.

NerdWallet summarized each state’s DOI site and said this about Tennessee:

“The website of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance lacked insurance rate comparisons and complaint information. While the website has some educational guides, there was no state-specific auto insurance guide. We were unable to locate educational resources for life insurance. The department does have a dedicated consumer helpline, and we received an answer to our basic insurance question in three minutes.”

In a release of its findings, NerdWallet said Tennessee DOI spokesman Kevin Walters said the score wasn’t indicative of the department’s efforts.

“We have regular outreach events throughout the year with consumers, in addition to a growing social media presence and regular press releases that offer Tennessee consumers and media information about the department and ways we take action on their behalf.”

While Tennessee was near the bottom in consumer helpfulness, NerdWallet noted that “most of these websites fall short in serving consumers by not providing key information, such as insurer rate comparisons and complaint data, as well as easy access to consumer assistance and educational materials.”

The top performers like Texas were exceptions.

Twenty specific measures went into each state’s 100-point score, including the availability of insurance company complaint data, premium estimates, consumer education resources, and consumer phone assistance.

NerdWallet also noted that its analysis focused only on websites and helplines, as DOIs have several responsibilities. A handful of state spokespeople said they didn’t see value in offering the things NerdWallet scored, according to the release. For example, Ohio Department of Insurance spokesperson David Hopcraft said the agency does “not view its website as a shopping mall for online insurance comparisons.”

Several DOIs announced upcoming or in-progress improvements.

– Daily News staff