Report: R.I. hospitals generated $6.7B in economic activity in 2012

ACCORDING TO A new report by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, hospitals in the state generated $6.7 billion in economic activity in 2012. Hospitals employ 20,800 health care professionals, accounting for more than 5 percent of the state's private-sector employment, the report stated. / COURTESY KENT HOSPITAL
ACCORDING TO A new report by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, hospitals in the state generated $6.7 billion in economic activity in 2012. Hospitals employ 20,800 health care professionals, accounting for more than 5 percent of the state's private-sector employment, the report stated. / COURTESY KENT HOSPITAL

CRANSTON – Hospitals in Rhode Island generated an estimated $6.7 billion in statewide economic activity in 2012, supported about 43,100 jobs and provided $1.9 billion in wages, according to a report released Tuesday by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.
The report was produced in collaboration with the Healthcare Association of New York State using data reported annually by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Based on this information, the report concluded that “hospitals are critical to the economic viability of Rhode Island.”
“Hospitals are a key ingredient to Rhode Island’s quality of life,” said Edward J. Quinlan, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, in a statement. “They are a major contributor to the state economy and to keeping families healthy and secure by providing needed health services. The financial health of hospitals is directly tied to the strength of our state overall. Hospitals must be financially strong to continue investing in our state’s economy.”
Rhode Island’s hospitals employ 20,800 health care professionals, accounting for more than 5 percent of the state’s private-sector employment, the report stated, and the economic activity generated by hospitals and their employees supports an additional 22,300 jobs statewide.
The R.I. Department of Labor and Training projects that hospitals could add as many as 2,600 new jobs in the Ocean State by 2020, the hospital association said.
The $6.7 billion annual economic impact estimated in the report included $3.7 billion generated by hospital employees’ spending on groceries, clothing, housing and other goods; $2.8 billion generated by hospital purchases of medical supplies and other goods and services from local vendors and businesses; and $181 million generated by hospitals’ capital spending projects to improve their facilities and technology.
Hospitals spend more than $1.4 billion each year on goods and services, the report said, and nearly $90 million on capital improvements.

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