LEDC director sees it as an opportunity for growth

Care 24/7, the remote health care service provider, hopes to add up to 80 jobs from now through the summer, according to Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, Executive Director, Bill Dingus, PhD.

Dingus praised Care 24/7, which provides telephone based follow-up health care management from their offices in Ironton, as a success story last week during the annual LEDC Board of Trustees meeting. This week he expanded on that, explaining that they hope to add these new jobs and that their success could pave the way for other call center jobs to locate in the area.

“If we can be successful in providing the appropriate support,” Dingus said, “then there will be other opportunities.

“People view these as minimal jobs,” he continued, “but that’s so untrue.”

He explained that like the medical related jobs Care 24/7 offers, many tech support and troubleshooting related jobs require precise technical expertise, and can demand decent pay.

“These jobs with Care 24/7 will pay as much as many manufacturing jobs,” Dingus said.

He explained that the company is currently recruiting qualified people from area nursing schools and programs, like that at Collins Career Technical Center, describing the available jobs as “pretty intense positions,” at least intellectually.

Dingus said that in addition to those looking to start careers, the company is looking at experienced nurses who may be more interested in transitioning to a desk job than continuing long shifts on their feet.

“These are the kinds of individuals who will be recruited for these positions,” he said, emphasizing that these are positions for skilled workers.

Dingus also noted planned improvements to the Brumberg Building downtown, which Community Action is redeveloping as mixed retail and residential units, and plans for condo development along the riverfront as evidence of a rebound in Ironton’s economy, in addition to other planned developments that he isn’t at liberty to discuss at present.

“Ironton is coming back strong,” he said. “If we can get condos on the river, and housing in the Brumberg building, people will see.”