In 2008 and 2009, Houston Healthcare generated more than $414.9 and $482.9 million, respectively, in revenue for the local economy according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest hospital trade association. The report also found that Houston Healthcare provided approximately $13.3 million in 2008 and $18.3 million in 2009 in uncompensated care while sustaining more than 3,459 full-time jobs throughout Houston County and the rest of the state.

The report revealed that Houston Healthcare had direct expenditures of more than $167.8 million in 2008 and $195.3 million in 2009.  When combined with an economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the total economic impact of those expenditures was more $414.9 million for 2008 and $482.9 million for 2009. This output multiplier considers the “ripple” effect of direct hospital expenditures on other sectors of the economy, such as medical supplies, durable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Economic multipliers are used to model the resulting impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

“This new report shows that, even in uncertain economic times, Houston Healthcare has an enormous positive impact on our local economy,” said Cary Martin, Interim Chief Executive Officer for Houston Healthcare. “We are thankful to the citizens of Houston County and the communities we serve for their unwavering support of our health system. We continue to work hard to ensure that those in our community have access to health care services that are second to none in quality and affordability.”

While Houston Healthcare remains a major component of the area’s economic engine, the hospital’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about a wide array of economic challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s diverse health care needs. Presently, more than a third of all hospitals in Georgia are operating with negative margins. 

“We’re extremely concerned with the current challenges and operating environments for hospitals,” said Martin. “We’ve made a commitment to those we serve to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, our ability to do so is being compromised due to the uncertainty of how the current healthcare challenges will impact our organization and state.”

“Our local health care system is crucial and vital to the community as the primary guardian of health services,” stated Martin. “It is a key building block for everything else in our community including education and economic vitality.  Our hope is that, even in these challenging economic times, our elected lawmakers will do what is necessary to protect our local health care system and preserve access to health care for every resident of Houston County and the communities we serve.”

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