Report measures economic impact of healthcare industry in Rock County in terms of jobs and income and their secondary effectsBy Lori EhdeWhen Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System opened its new hospital and clinic in Luverne, it promised economic benefits for the entire region.It was understood that patients and medical professionals coming to the facility in Luverne would also do some business in Luverne. They’d buy gas and household goods, and maybe eat at local restaurants, for example.At the same time, the medical jobs would generate peripheral jobs and purchasing power, also boosting the rural economy.To put a price on that economic impact has been so far measured in only vague terms.But a recent study by the Minnesota Department of Health attaches some real numbers to the value of healthcare in Rock County.The study, produced by the MDH Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, considered all sectors of healthcare in its study. Those sectors include hospitals, doctors, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, pharmacists, veterinarians, nursing and protective care (such as nursing homes and group homes) and health services (such as home healthcare, rehabilitation and county health departments).The study concluded that healthcare services provided locally improve not only the community’s health, but the health of the local economy. For Hospital Administrator Jerry Carl, this is an important message for the community."We don’t always have the opportunity to walk into a local retail store and buy things because we’re part of a larger purchasing system," Carl said. "But we bring the patients into town, and the patients make the sale, and we hire the employees who come to town and make the purchases."Highlights from the study include the following points:oFor every one dollar spent on healthcare in Rock County, an additional 25 cents is spent in other sectors.In Rock County, the per capita expenditures on healthcare services are $2,924. Rock County’s population is roughly 10,000 people, so Rock County residents are spending an estimated $29.2 million on healthcare annually.This number, times the 25-cent multiplier, means healthcare business is generating an additional $7.3 million in other areas of the county.oEvery $100 of income earned in the healthcare sector in Rock County leads to another $30 earned in other sectors.The income impact of healthcare in Rock County is $16.8 million, roughly 13.5 percent of the county’s total economic output.The healthcare industry provides nearly $13 million in income annually in Rock County. Roughly $3.9 million in additional income is supported by the healthcare sector through the multiplier effect.The $11 million spent in the healthcare sector of Rock County has created another $3.5 million in other sectors of the county’s economy.oHealthcare services account for approximately 10 percent of total employment in Rock County.The health sector in Rock County has one hospital, one physician office, four dentists, three nursing homes, four home care agencies, one mental health treatment facility, two pharmacies and two assisted living facilities.The total healthcare sector employs 588 people with a combined annual payroll of nearly $13 million in 2004. Plus, the health sector purchases $11.8 million in goods and services from other sectors of the economy, bringing total healthcare expenditures in Rock County to more than $24.8 million.Sioux Valley employs 188 people with an annual payroll of $5,589,300.In Rock County, the 60 and older age group represents 24.5 percent of the population (compared with 12.6 percent statewide), so a large number of elderly and farmers retire in Luverne.Nursing homes and assisted living facilities employ 241 people with an annual payroll of $4,047,000 — an important part of the total healthcare payroll in Rock County.oThe overall economic impact due to healthcare in Rock County is estimated at $32.2 million.The report summarized its findings as follows:"The health sector is vitally important as a community employer and important to the community’s economy," its findings stated."The health sector and the employees in the health sector purchase a significant amount of goods and services from businesses in Rock County."