Health care helps keep the economy healthy

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The health care industry in Floyd County accounts for almost 1,000 employees and more than $40 million in annual payroll, according to a recent report.

The Iowa Hospital Association recently released its 2018 Economic Impact of the Health Sector report for the state and individual counties.

It shows that at the time of the survey, in Floyd County there were 204 employees at the Floyd County Medical Center; 178 employees in offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners; 323 in nursing home and community care facilities; 186 employees in mental health, substance abuse and other facilities; 29 in pharmacies; and 45 in other medical and health services, for a total employment of 974 people.

Total payroll for that group was $41.8 million, and the sector was responsible for $8.9 million in retail sales in Floyd County, the report said.

Tim Fox, executive director of the Charles City Area Development Corp., said health care’s impact on the local economy is significant.

In addition to all the employees and payroll, health care availability is an important part of marketing a community, he said.

For example, he said, one of the reasons the Southwest Development Park was created where it is is because of the proximity to the Floyd County Medical Center and the clinic.

“It’s a significant part of the community and the local economy,” he said.

When businesses are looking for locations “they look at health care and local health professionals when they’re making site decisions,” Fox said.

“It’s something we always put in our request-for-proposal responses” to companies that are looking to build, expand or relocate, he said.

Information in the Iowa economic impact report is based on the American Hospital Association’s annual survey of hospitals, the report said, and it shows that health care employs 102,000 people in the state with a total payroll of more than $7 billion.

That breaks down to 45,000 jobs and $5.1 billion payroll for health care practitioners such as physicians and dentists and their staff, and 57,000 jobs and more than $1.9 billion for nursing homes and other residential care.

And those jobs and services also result in other jobs that support them.

In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, nursing home and residential care, other medical and health services and pharmacies, contributes $17 billion to the state economy while directly and indirectly providing 330,308 jobs, or about 20 percent of the state’s total non-farm employment, the report said.

“Hospitals and health care are vital to the economy in all parts of the state, both urban and rural,” said Iowa Hospital Association President and CEO Kirk Norris. “With more than 330,000 jobs, health care is one of Iowa’s largest employers, and hospitals remain, by far, the biggest contributor to that enormous impact.

“In Iowa cities and counties, hospitals are uniformly among the largest employers,” he said. “Those jobs bring income to Main Street businesses and support local government services and infrastructure through taxes.”

The Iowa Hospital Association is a voluntary membership organization representing hospital and health system interests. All of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals are IHA members.