DCH Corner – Healthcare Organizations Affect Economic Activity

In Decatur County, there are multiple groups working toward greater economic stability to improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses. A major contributor to an increase in economic stability is high-quality jobs, and money spent locally. Decatur County Hospital places great importance on both of these aspects.

According to data collected by the Iowa Hospital Association, Decatur County Hospital employs 116 people with a combined annual income of $4,918,800. This works out to an average of just over $42,400 annually for each employee. Most of our employees live in Decatur County and directly contribute to the local economy.

When residents of Decatur County decide to spend their money locally, it financially impacts the economy more than just the dollars spent. On average, every dollar spent locally on goods and services is actually spent multiple times before it leaves town. For example, if one of our employees spends money on a meal at a local restaurant, that restaurant owner may use that money to pay their employees. Those employees might then use that money to buy groceries at a local store. That local store uses that money to pay their employees. Those employees may take that money and support local farmers at a Farmer’s Market. This is called the local multiplier effect.

Taking the local multiplier effect into account, Decatur County Hospital’s $4,918,800 in employee salaries actually results in $6,173,064 worth of economic impact after each dollar is spent multiple times. Of this, $896,420 was funneled directly into retail sales in Decatur County, resulting in $53,785 in sales tax dollars collected throughout the county. This has a huge effect on the bottom line of the budgets of our cities and county.

We encourage all residents of Decatur County to think local first, and spend money in Decatur County whenever possible. Every dollar you spend locally versus outside the county has a real impact on the quality of life for our residents.

“People often think of hospitals only in terms of the healthcare services we provide,” said Greg Boattenhamer, DCH Chief Executive Officer. “However, as one of the area’s largest employers, DCH is also a key participant in the county’s overall economic vitality. Without a quality healthcare system involving all service providers and a quality education system, it’s difficult to attract other businesses to rural communities. We look forward to continuing our work with all other county entities to strengthen the economic base of the entire region.”

DCH is committed to continue to provide high-quality jobs for Decatur County Residents. As you support your local hospital, you support our ability to provide these jobs. We encourage you to take advantage of all the services we have to offer, close to home. To learn more about Decatur County Hospital and our available services, please visit www.www.decaturcountyhospital.org, or follow us on Facebook @DecaturCountyHospitalIowa. And don’t forget that we want to hear from you! Email us at serb@d-c-h.org if you have a topic or question you would like us to cover in one of our DCH Corner articles.