Conducted in conjunction with the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the study shows a $152,117,484 impact on the region in 2012.
The study was presented today during a luncheon with the Halifax Development Commission, the medical center's board of trustees and other business leaders.
The study also showed an additional $11,563,174 was generated based on private practice physicians and other providers that would not be a part of the local economy without the medical center.
The study reflects positive numbers coming off a year that presented challenges for hospitals across the country in light of the Affordable Health Care Act and the state of North Carolina's decision not to expand Medicaid, said Shameka Lloyd, marketing and communications director of HRMC.
A chart showing the impact.
She said the study focused on the hospital's impact in a four-county region that includes Halifax, Nash, Northampton and Warren counties, measuring direct, indirect and induced impacts.
The study revealed that not only does the hospital create 1,252 full-time jobs, of which 759 are directly provided by HRMC, but indirectly created another 493 because of its existence in the community.
As a regional facility, HRMC accounts for 2.7 percent of private employment and 15.2 percent of all private employment in Halifax County.
It also accounts for $20 million in local, state and federal taxes. “This report shows the vital role HRMC plays,” Lloyd said. “It's important to real estate, food services, access to quality healthcare and the workforce.”
Will Mahone, CEO of HRMC, told the audience, “The objectives in the healthcare business have changed over the last 10 years. We have moved forward in the community to become case managers.”
That means instead of simply sending patients home, caseworkers follow them through their illnesses to recovery. “We're working to have people healthy,” he said.
The report bodes well for HRMC as it continues due diligence to strike a merger in the next nine to 12 months with Novant Health, Mahone said. “We have an annual budget of $92 million. Novant Health will give us the stability to maintain what we have accomplished. It will help us transform more to healthcare than sick care.”
Halifax County Commissioner James Pierce, who also serves on the hospital board, said, “The jobs show they are a big deal to us. We would be in terrible shape if those jobs weren't provided. These 1,252 jobs are a big deal to our economy. If they weren't here it would be a problem.”
Cathy Scott, executive director of the Halifax Development Commission, said competition for business and industry in North Carolina is fierce. “We have a competitive edge with our hospital. We have to do everything we can to preserve this place in our community.”
