Statewide, hospitals account for nearly $24 billion economic impact, 177,000 jobs
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release │ May 1, 2017
Media Contact: Shayna Diamond │602-445-4327 │[email protected]
PHOENIX – Arizona hospitals play an outsized role in driving the statewide and local economy, according to the results of an independent economic-impact study released today.
That report, prepared by Rounds Consulting Group, Inc., found that Arizona hospitals are responsible for nearly 177,000 full-time jobs. This figure credits Arizona hospitals with directly creating more than 87,000 jobs and indirectly creating an additional 89,000 jobs, which includes organizations and individuals that provide services or products to the hospitals themselves.
Arizona hospitals total nearly $24 billion worth of direct and indirect economic impact.
According to Jim Rounds, President of Rounds Consulting Group: “Hospitals represent a critical driver of the Arizona economy, helping directly and indirectly generate 177,000 jobs and $24 billion in economic impact. Just as critical is the economic benefit created by these institutions in local communities, where the hospital is often one of the largest area employers.”
Additionally, a strong healthcare system and access to quality hospitals are essential to Arizona’s tourism market and directly tied to the state’s ability to recruit and retain non-healthcarerelated employers and economic investment.
“This report makes clear that Arizona hospitals are critical not only to the health of Arizona citizens, but also to the overall health of our state and local economy,” said Greg Vigdor, President and CEO of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA). “Healthcare is the largest single industry in Arizona and one of the few sectors that continued to grow through the Great Recession. Now that the economy is back on stable footing, hospitals are helping lead the recovery and creating thousands of quality jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact.”
Of note, Arizona hospitals operate at the 2nd-lowest per-capita cost of any state in the nation, with per-capita expenses 24 percent lower than the national average.
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About AzHHA
AzHHA is Arizona’s statewide association for those organizations and individuals devoted to collectively building better healthcare and health for the patients, people and communities of Arizona. Founded in 1939, AzHHA’s objective is to improve healthcare through Better Care, Better Health and Lower Costs with the ultimate goal of making Arizona the healthiest state in the nation. For more information, please contact [email protected] or call (602) 445-4300.