The Bartlett Area Chamber is partnering with local medical device companies to form the Medical Device Council and the Tennessee Life Science Center for Innovation and Technology.

The decision to create the council and the center were the results of an extended study the Bartlett Chamber put together to determine ways to help provide qualified employees for the different medical device companies throughout the city.

John Threadgill, president of the Bartlett Area Chamber, said the study brought two specific issues to light: the lack of a single voice that could speak for the device industry and issues concerning it and the lack of training and apprenticeship programs for people looking to enter the industry.

“Businesses have been forced to create their own programs, but there isn’t a system in place to create a pipeline for employees to go through,” Threadgill said. “The training program could be used to create economies of scale that can address those issues."

The steering committee for the device council has received participation commitments from executives with Wright Medical Group Inc., EMS LLC, Surface Dynamics, Onyx Medical, Smith & Nephew Inc., Y & W Technologies and Big River Engineering. Threadgill said the steering committee hopes to hold its first meeting in the next 30 to 45 days.

Threadgill estimates the Life Science Center would require a seed investment of $3 million to lease space, purchase equipment and put training programs together. He hopes funding would be available from a combination of participating device companies, and the chamber currently is working on a workforce development proposal that could be presented to Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell to take to the Tennessee General Assembly.

While he didn’t make a definite commitment to funding, Luttrell said the public/private aspects of the partnership make it an attractive idea.

“It’s a well-thought out plan by the Bartlett chamber and we want to see what they can do to institute the program,” Luttrell said. “The only thing that keeps the (medical device) industry from growing is bringing in more qualified people to staff it.”