According to a recent study by the Iowa Hospital Association, more than 1,300 jobs in Poweshiek County are directly linked to healthcare services. Grinnell Regional Medical Center remains the largest healthcare employer in the county.
Specifically, GRMC generates 454 jobs that add $25,954,802 to the Poweshiek County’s economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. In addition, GRMC employees by themselves spend $7,302,236 on retail sales and contribute $438,134 in state sales tax revenue. The research also reports an additional 256 jobs indirectly related to the hospital. This contributes more than $34 million in payroll and proprietor income related to health and wellness through GRMC.
“The income generated from healthcare jobs impacts several communities and counties,” says Todd C. Linden, CEO and president. “More than 60 percent of GRMC employees live in Poweshiek County with the remaining 40 percent living in nearby counties. We provide a strong economic impact on schools, businesses, and retail in the entire area.”
The IHA report focuses on the direct economic impact and total economic impact of the five healthcare sectors in the county and on the state level. The five segments include hospitals; practitioners such as physicians, dentists, and other health providers; nursing and residential care facilities; pharmacies; and other medical and health services.
Of these, 474 jobs are with nursing and residential care facilities, 332 at physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners, 55 at other medical/health services, and 16 at pharmacies, in addition to those reported at GRMC in 2009. Based on 2009 Bureau of Labor statistics, Poweshiek County has 9,410 employed residents, making more than one-fifth of the county’s total employment linked to healthcare.
“Our personal health and wellbeing directly impacts our quality of life. Employers looking to relocate their business consider the strength and quality of the healthcare available in the same way they look at the labor pool, real estate, and schools,” says Linden. “Even in these tough economic times, healthcare remains a very strong economic as well as quality-of-life factor in Poweshiek County and beyond.”
The study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ 74,027 people and create another 73,953 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $3.65 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.5 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.
“The downturn in the economy has impacted activity at GRMC like most other organizations,” added Linden. “We have really focused on maintaining our workforce because our people are our most precious resource. It would have been easy to just do a layoff; instead we reduced hours, did not fill vacated positions and reduced some benefits. It was a shared sacrifice to save jobs.”
In all, Iowa’s healthcare sector, which includes employed clinicians, long-term care services and assisted living centers, pharmacies and other medical and health services, directly and indirectly provides 354,907 Iowa jobs, or more than one-fifth of the state’s total employment.
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