The Dallas County Hospital generates 156 jobs that add $8,056,433 to Dallas County’s economy, according to a study released Wednesday by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA).
Countywide, the medical-health services sector generates 4,230 jobs that bring $246,268,037 to Dallas County’s economy, according to the latest study by the IHA. In addition, Dallas County Hospital employees by themselves spend $1,907,441 on retail sales and contribute $114,446 in state sales tax revenue, the study showed.
“At Dallas County Hospital, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to serve those in our community, not only from a healthcare perspective but also in providing jobs and positively impacting the local economy,” said Angela Mortoza, CEO, “We understand that as a community partner, our reach extends well beyond the walls of our facility.”
The IHA study looked at jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s healthcare sector. The data was compiled from the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals, using software other industries use to measure their economic impact.
Iowa hospitals directly employ 74,691 people — about 4 percent more than in 2017 — and they create another 57,586 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $4.8 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.3 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.
Statewide the healthcare sector — including offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, nursing homes and residential care facilities, other medical and health services and pharmacies — contributes $17 billion to Iowa’s economy while directly and indirectly providing 330,308 jobs or about 20 percent of the state’s total non-farm employment.
“Hospitals and health care are vital to the economy in all parts of the state, both urban and rural,” said IHA 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.”
Norris said hospitals are among the largest employers in Iowa’s towns and counties, “and those jobs bring income to Main Street businesses and support local government services and infrastructure through taxes,” he said.
As possible cuts to Medicaid and Medicare are contemplated, hospital services and jobs are put at risk – and with them a large swath of the Iowa economy.
“These facts need to be front-of-mind among our political leaders in Washington, DC and Des Moines,” Norris said. “They need to understand that when legislation and regulations financially impact hospitals and health care, they also impact jobs and business in every part of the state.”
The IHA is a voluntary organization representing hospital and health system interests to business, government and consumer audiences. All of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals are IHA members.
Macinzie McFarland is the public relations manager at the Dallas County Hospital.
