Piedmont Mountainside Hospital Generates $87 Million for Pickens County’s Economy

JASPER, Ga. (Apr. 13, 2010) – In 2007, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital generated more than $87.7 million in revenue for the local economy according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA). The report also found during the same time period, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital provided over $4.6 million in total uncompensated care (not including unpaid costs of Medicaid and Medicare) and sustained more than 410 full-time jobs throughout the Pickens County area.

The report revealed that Piedmont Mountainside Hospital had direct expenditures of over $35.4 million dollars in 2007. When combined with the economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the total economic impact of those expenditures was more than $87.7 million. This output multiplier considers the “ripple” effect of direct hospital expenditures on other sectors of the economy, such as medical supplies, durable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.  Economic multipliers are used to model the resulting impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

“This GHA report shows Piedmont Mountainside Hospital has a significant positive impact on our local economy,” said Mike Robertson, CEO of Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. “We will continue to work hard to ensure the community has access to quality and affordable healthcare services.”

While Piedmont Mountainside Hospital remains a major component of the area’s economic engine, the hospital’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about a wide array of economic challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s healthcare needs including a fast-growing uninsured population and new state legislation. Presently, more than a third of all hospitals in Georgia are operating with negative margins.

“We are concerned with the current operating environment for hospitals,” said Robertson. “Piedmont Mountainside Hospital has made a commitment to maintain high quality standards and excellent customer service for the community 7 days a week, 365 days a year. That task just became more difficult with a new 1.45 percent tax burden on patient care.”

According to Robertson, state lawmakers must work to protect the state’s healthcare system with the same fervor that they do other initiatives like education and public utilities.

“Piedmont Mountainside Hospital is an integral part of our community and is the foundation for quality of life,” said Robertson. “With the continued support of the community and our elected lawmakers, even in these challenging economic times we have the ability to do what is necessary to protect our local healthcare system and preserve access to healthcare for all residents of Pickens County.”

For more information about Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, visit piedmontmountainsidehospital.org.