Reid Touts Healthy Economic Impact
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowReid Health says, despite operating in an uncertain industry, it remains a major economic driver in Wayne County and eastern Indiana. An economic impact report from the Indiana Hospital Association shows Reid pumps nearly $600 million per year into the local economy. Reid Chief Executive Officer Craig Kinyon says the system supports around 3,700 direct and indirect jobs, many of which pay higher-than-average salaries. He says the system also strives to buy and hire local, which helps with "providing jobs to people who live throughout the area we serve."
The information in the report is taken mostly from 2014 data. It shows an annual payroll of almost $239 million, with those dollars generating a nearly equal amount in economic activity in the region. The IHA also estimates Reid spent almost $315 million on goods and services and nearly $40 million in capital spending in 2014. It also cites more than $30 million pumped into the region per year through community benefit efforts.
Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County Valerie Shaffer says Reid Health is "crucial to the economic viability of the community." She says companies looking to locate or grow in the county "like to know that their work force has accessible care to ensure they remain healthy and productive – and if an accident on the job were to occur, that an emergency room is only minutes away."
She says the impact is especially significant, given the challenges that rural hospitals face throughout the United States. She cites an article in Rural Roads magazine, suggesting 72 rural hospitals have closed in the U.S. in the past six years, including at least nine this year.
Last month, Reid Health announced a partnership with Indianapolis-based Community Health Network on a new patient and care management system. The systems say the platform, which is expected to take up to two years to implement, will give patients access to medical record and care management information.
Kinyon says long-term planning can help ensure that Reid can “survive and thrive for years to come.”