Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) surpassed the $1 billion mark in local and state economic impact for the fifth consecutive year according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), the state’s largest hospital trade association.
The report found that, in 2014, NGMC generated $1,301,569,461 in revenue for the local and state economy; provided more than $43 million in uncompensated care; and sustained nearly 8,000 full-time jobs throughout the region and state – in addition to the more than 6,000 employees directly employed by Northeast Georgia Health System. The more than $43 million in uncompensated care, such as indigent and charity care, takes into account more than $7 million NGMC provided in community outreach such as free screenings and health education.
The report revealed that NGMC had direct expenditures of more than $569 million in 2014. 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 than $1 billion. 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 impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.
“One of our organization’s core values is deep interdependence – the idea that we can’t do our jobs without each other’s support – which reflects our intimate relationship with our community,” says Carol Burrell, president and CEO of NGMC’s parent organization, Northeast Georgia Health System. “We’re blessed to have great support from the 17 counties we serve and beyond, and, in return, we practice diligent financial stewardship to remain vibrant and reliable during this era of healthcare reform. We don’t just provide national award-winning care; we also strive to be an economic force for decades to come.”
Burrell adds that the GHA report reflects the impact of the construction of NGMC Braselton, the Health System’s new hospital, which opened in April. More than $40 million was invested in 60 subcontractors and vendors from Hall County and across the region, which represented more than 50 percent of the project’s labor and resources.
The figures in the GHA study only reflect the economic impact of hospital expenditures and do not include the impact of other services, such as physician offices and long term care facilities, provided by Northeast Georgia Health System.