Greene County Medical Center generated $25,322,994 for the Greene County area’s economy in 2017, according to the most recent impact study by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA). The report also shows that the medical center’s employees spent $3,022,654 on retail sales within the county and contributed $181,359 in state sales tax revenue. All three of these figures represent an increase from the 2016 report, including a $580,996 increase in overall impact.
CEO Carl Behne noted, “This positive economic impact represents an important role we play in Greene County. Providing quality, compassionate care to those we serve is our number one priority, and we are proud of the economic impact we have in our community.”
The yearly IHA study examines jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s health care sector.The study was compiled from hospital-submitted data on the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals and with software that other industries have used to determine their economic impact.
The study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ 74,691 people and create another 57,586 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $4.8 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.3 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.
According to IHA, “In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, nursing home and residential care, other medical and health services and pharmacies, contributes $17 billion to the state economy while directly and indirectly providing 330,308 jobs, or about 20 percent of the state’s total non-farm employment.”
IHA president and CEO Kirk Norris said, “With more than 330,000 jobs, health care is one of Iowa’s largest employers, and hospitals remain, by far, the biggest contributor to that enormous impact. In Iowa cities and counties, hospitals are uniformly among the largest employers. Those jobs bring income to main street businesses and support local government services and infrastructure through taxes.”
Norris added, “As possible cuts to Medicaid and Medicare are contemplated, hospital services and jobs are put at risk – and with them a large swath of the Iowa economy. These facts need to be front-of-mind among our political leaders. They need to understand that when legislation and regulations financially impact hospitals and health care, they also impact jobs and business in every part of the state.”
The Iowa Hospital Association is a voluntary membership organization representing hospital and health system interests to business, government and consumer audiences. All of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals are IHA members.
