In 2017, the total economic impact of Floyd Medical Center on the local and state economy was more than $722.3 million, according to a recently released report by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), the state’s largest hospital trade association. During the same time period according to GHA, Floyd provided approximately $22.7 million in uncompensated care while sustaining more than 7,360 full-time jobs throughout Floyd County and the rest of the state.
Floyd also had direct expenditures of more than $308.8 million in 2017. The total economic impact reflects those expenditures combined with an economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. 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.
Floyd is a major component of the area’s economic strength; however, the hospital’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about economic challenges that affect the hospital’s ability to deliver timely and efficient care. A fast-growing uninsured population and inadequate payments from government insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s health care needs.
Floyd Medical Center is managed by Floyd Healthcare Management Inc., which also manages Polk Medical Center in Cedartown and Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama. The GHA economic impact report does not track the expenditures or economic impact in Alabama.
In 2017, the total economic impact of Polk Medical Center on the local and state economy was more than $51 million, according to the GHA. During the same time period, Polk provided approximately $4.4 million in uncompensated care while sustaining more than 445 full-time jobs throughout Polk County and the rest of the state.
Polk Medical Center also had direct expenditures of more than $21.8 million in 2017. The total economic impact reflects those expenditures combined with an economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. 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.
Combined, Floyd Medical Center and Polk Medical Center have a total economic impact of more than $773.3 million on the state and local economy. Together, the two hospitals provided more than $27.1 million in uncompensated care and sustained more than 10,000 jobs throughout northwest Georgia and the rest of the state.