Jobs in Healthcare Industry Maintain Economic Impact

The healthcare industry supports 1,326 jobs in the county and those positions contribute more than $57.6 million in payroll and income to the county’s economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. 

Grinnell Regional Medical Center generates 410 jobs that add $32.5 million to the local economy.  In addition, GRMC employees by themselves spend $6.67 million on retail sales and contribute $400,360 in state sales tax revenue.

            “A strong healthcare industry assures residents of quality care and it’s also very important for the local economy,” says Todd C. Linden, CEO and president. “The contributions by hospitals, nursing facilities, physicians, dentists, pharmacies and medical services make a significant impact on the  local economy, including the number of people they employ, the purchases with local businesses, and employees’ spending. We provide a strong economic impact on schools, businesses, and retail in the entire area.”

Nursing and residential care employs 495 individuals, according to the study based on 2011 data. Physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners and their offices support 341 jobs. An additional 600 jobs are indirectly linked to the healthcare industry. In total, the healthcare industry spends $57,604,960 in payroll income, generating an economic impact of $77,881,091.

“Though GRMC has reduced payroll and number of employees over the past two years, the industry in the county has maintained its level of healthcare jobs and economic impact,” 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 IHA study examined the jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s healthcare 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 70,363 people and create another 65,783 jobs outside the hospital sector.  As an income source, hospitals provide $3.9 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.3 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.
 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 333,554 Iowa jobs, or more than one-fifth of the state’s total employment.