New Jersey Hospital System Stimulates Economy

PRINCETON, N.J.— The New Jersey Hospital System keeps surprising the nation with its contributions to the Garden State’s economy. This time around, the hospital system contributed a whopping $21 billion to the state economy in 2013.

Regardless of the overlapping change that the rest of the country seems to be experiencing with state health care systems, New Jersey’s is actually stimulating its surroundings, contributing to 144,000 full- and part-time jobs in 2013. With this increase in jobs comes an increase in goods and services provided to those employees and customers, as well as an increase in net state taxes paid. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) President and CEO Betsy Ryan, hospitals “continue to be a stable force of New Jersey’s economy by adding jobs while still giving back to their communities and providing $1.3 billion in charity care for the uninsured.”

The data gathered for this particular statistic was executed by the Hospitals Economic Impact Report, which consisted of a thorough economic study of about 72 hospitals and their economic subsidies both statewide and within the counties. The report in particular highlights a $2.8 billion increase in spending for goods and services from 2012, increasing such things as contracted labor, pharmaceuticals, utilities, building supplies and more. There was also a $400 million increase in employee salaries from 2012 as well. This increase in spending from these hospitals “provides economic stability through employment and revenue. And their economic investments in their facilities help expand infrastructure, purchase new technology and maintain a highly skilled workforce,” said Sean Hopkins, the senior vice president of health economics for NJHA, in a statement.

In a sense, the whole economy starts and ends with public services, and the fact that New Jersey’s health care system is still thriving and contributing heavily towards the well-being of the state is vital towards its survival. According to the Hospitals Economic Impact Report, the health care industry is the “only industry that has added jobs in the state every year from 1990 through 2013.” At this rate, the hospital system in the state will soon contribute alone to a 20 percent net job growth by the year of 2020. Soon, the hospital systems will become the leading employers in several different counties in New Jersey, as most hospitals provide several employee benefits, such as good health insurance coverage. Also, the services that these hospitals provide outside of the facility, such as local community health services and spending, are very meaningful and appeal to prospective employees that desire unparalleled service to their community.

Benefits and health care are important to an employee, but serving the community outside of their facilities could also prove to be a deciding factor in the hiring process. If the New Jersey hospital system keeps climbing at this rate, the hospitals could provide the majority of economic stimulation in the state and thus become a great example for other states throughout the country.