Business : Virginia Gay Hospital & Clinics Creates $9,791,431.00 Impact on Local Economy

In Iowa, Hospitals Generate $6.1 Billion and 70,000 Jobs

Virginia Gay Hospital & Clinics generates 255 jobs that add $9,791,431.00 to Benton County economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. In addition, Virginia Gay Hospital & Clinics employees by themselves spend $1,236,920.00 on retail sales and contribute $74,215.00 in state sales tax revenue.

“Virginia Gay Hospital employees provide exceptional patient care every day but they also possess an exceptional commitment to being a strong business partner in Benton County,” said Mike Riege, Virginia Gay CEO/ Administrator. “Contributing to the economic well being of this community is just as important as caring for the well being of our patients.”

The IHA study examined the 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 70,484 people and create another 67,247 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $3.8 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.3 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals. In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes employed clinicians, long-term care services and assisted living centers, pharmacies and other medical and health services, directly and indirectly provides 329,793 Iowa jobs, or more than one-fifth of the state’s total employment.

“Just as no one provides the services and community benefits found at our hospitals, there is also no substitute for the jobs hospitals provide and create,” said Kirk Norris, IHA president/CEO. “Iowa hospitals are at the foundation of Iowa’s economy and remain major employers in all parts of the state. Iowa’s economic security is directly tied to having one of the finest health care systems in the nation.”