News Releases

March 18, 2010

Contact:
Jennifer Faley
Communication Coordinator
(563) 589-8112
faleyja@mercyhealth.com

Mercy – Dubuque & Dyersville Create $92,314,433 Impact on Local Economy
One in Five Iowa Jobs Linked to Health Care, Study Shows

Mercy Medical Center – Dubuque & Dyersville generate 1,351 jobs that add $92,314,433 to the region’s economy, according to the latest study by the Iowa Hospital Association. In addition, Mercy – Dubuque & Dyersville employees by themselves spend $33,796,305 on retail sales and contribute $2,027,778 in state sales tax revenue.

“Through the years, Mercy has been a stable, reliable employer providing high-quality jobs for thousands of people during both the ups and the downs of the normal economic cycle,” said Russell Knight, President and CEO of Mercy Medical Center.

The IHA study examined the jobs, income, retail sales and sales tax produced by hospitals and the rest of the state’s health care sector. The study was compiled from hospital-submitted data on the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals and with software that other industries have used to determine their economic impact.

The study found that Iowa hospitals directly employ 74,027 people and create another 73,953 jobs outside the hospital sector. As an income source, hospitals provide $3.65 billion in salaries and benefits and generate another $2.5 billion through other jobs that depend on hospitals.

IHA data show Iowa hospitals added 4,611 employees and more than $747 million to their payrolls (including benefits) between 2004 and 2008, the year for which the latest hospital data is available.

In all, Iowa’s health care sector, which includes employed clinicians, long-term care services and assisted living centers, pharmacies and other medical and health services, directly and indirectly provides 354,907 Iowa jobs, or more than one-fifth of the state’s total employment.

“Iowa enjoys the economic security that comes with having one of the finest health care systems in the nation,” said Kirk Norris, IHA president/CEO. “Iowa hospitals are at the foundation of Iowa’s economy and remain major employers and business partners in all parts of the state. Just as no one provides the services and community benefits found at our hospitals, there is also no substitute for the jobs hospitals provide and create.”