As the largest employer in Elk and Cameron counties, Elk Regional spends more than $90.5 million each year. The ripple effect of that spending means the Health Center’s total annual economic benefit is an impressive $152.6 million.
“Without a doubt, Elk Regional and the Penn Highlands Healthcare member hospitals are the region’s most significant economic anchors,” said Ron Skarka, the Chief Operating Officer at Elk Regional Health Center. “We are proud to be a local and regional economic mainstay. Our spending supports businesses both locally and regionally, allowing them to employ people who live right here in our community. We are a major economic driver and will continue to have a positive impact on the region’s economic landscape.”
Other member hospitals of Penn Highlands Healthcare are Brookville Hospital, Clearfield Hospital, and DuBois Regional Medical Center.
Elk Regional spends about $43.7 million in salaries each year. The Health Center and its affiliate organizations employ nearly 1,100 people who enjoy an average annual salary of $49,469. As Health Center employees spend their money to purchase goods and services from local retailers, their spending supports another $20.6 million in salaries at local and regional businesses, which translates into support for about 577 full-time equivalent jobs.
The Penn Highlands Healthcare member hospitals collectively spend more than $181.8 million in salaries each year and employ more than 3,100 people who enjoy an average annual salary of $58,324. As employees spend their money to purchase goods and services from local retailers, their spending supports another $160.2 million in salaries throughout the region, which translates to 3,671 full-time equivalent jobs.
“The Penn Highlands Healthcare member hospitals all provide essential health care and stable employment,” Mr. Skarka said. “Support for your local hospital certainly translates into support for its patients. But more than that, supporting your community hospital means that you are supporting the local workforce and the local economy.”
The health sector’s influence is also significant across northwestern Pennsylvania and the state – and in spite of the nation’s sluggish economic recovery, hospitals remain one of the strongest economic contributors in the Commonwealth. In 2011, the last year for which full statistics are available, economic contributions made by Pennsylvania’s hospitals to their local communities and the state added up to nearly $98 billion.
According to the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania, hospitals are major economic engines in their communities. In 55 of the state’s 67 counties, hospitals are among the top five employers. Collectively, hospitals throughout the Commonwealth employ almost 269,000 people and spend $14 billion on salaries and wages. Across the Commonwealth, the health care industry supports one in every 10 jobs outside of the industry.
In northwest Pennsylvania alone, hospitals have a total annual economic benefit of more than $3.56 billion.
“Looking at these numbers, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a strong, vibrant hospital is absolutely essential to the health of our region,” Mr. Skarka said. “Without Elk Regional, nearly 1,100 people would be without a job. I cannot imagine how devastating that would be to the families in our region.”
Elk Regional’s importance stretches beyond the Health Center’s economic impact. Through its affiliate organizations the Health Center provides residents in a large geographic area with easy access to a broad spectrum of essential health care services including primary care, surgery, rehabilitation, laboratory and imaging services, home health care, long-term care, emergency care, mental health services, inpatient and outpatient renal dialysis, and maternity care.
The newest report on hospital economic impact in Pennsylvania was recently released by the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania. The report, The Community & Economic Impact of Pennsylvania Hospitals, is available online here. The report updates the study released in 2011 and includes data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, and HAP member hospitals and health systems.
