Report finds New Jersey Hospital a Major Contributor to Region's Economy
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital of New Brunswick, New Jersey, brings $900 million in economic activity to Central New Jersey that directly or indirectly supports 8,400 jobs, much larger than many private companies, according to an economic consulting firm.
(PRWEB) May 5, 2004
The study by New Jersey Economics and commissioned by the 567-bed hospital looks at how Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital fits into the economic health of the community in addition to its primary role as an academic medical center.
“People in New Jersey know that Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research and the education of medical professionals. Our role in the region’s economy, however, isn’t as well understood,” said hospital President and CEO Harvey A. Holzberg. “As the hospital has grown to meet the region’s health care needs, it has also emerged as an important part of the region’s economy.”
The report documents how in terms of creating jobs, buying goods and services, and the ripple effects of its operations, the hospital creates economic benefits for businesses, industries and households across the region.
The $900 million economic impact figure, which is based on 2002 data, includes $475 million in direct spending in the region through the hospitalÂ’s purchases and labor costs. These dollars then circulate through the regional economy in a secondary wave of spending worth an estimated $422 million, according to the report.
As for jobs, RWJUH employs more than 4,600 people, taking into account all full-time, part-time and per-diem workers, while another 3,760 people have jobs that are in some way dependent on the hospital, for a total of 8,400 jobs available in the region, the report states.
The dollars earned by RWJUH employees and those who have jobs dependent on the hospital amounted to $347 million in 2002, the report states. This figure includes the hospitalÂ’s $199 million payroll, and an additional $16.7 million spent on regional labor purchases, mostly agency nurses. It also includes an estimated $131.9 million earned by the 3,760 people whose jobs are in some way dependent upon the hospital.
“We’ve always realized that our hospital has a significant economic impact but this is the first time the impact has been documented.” Holzberg said. “It’s interesting to see how, in the process of carrying out our core mission of delivering the very best in medical care, we have also helped the region to grow.”
The report also outlines the institutionÂ’s history from its founding in 1885 to its current standing as the stateÂ’s premiere academic medical center, providing advanced services that New Jerseyans previously had to travel out of state to receive.
With expansions into transplants, cardiac care, cancer treatment, and its creation of a childrenÂ’s hospital, Robert Wood Johnson has become a destination hospital that now regularly serves patients from each of New JerseyÂ’s 21 counties and the surrounding states.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is the principal teaching hospital for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Together, the hospital and medical school are also developing the state’s only Pediatric Center of Excellence – a statewide center of medical care and research for children, including the most medically fragile infants.
The center already contains The Bristol-Myers Squibb ChildrenÂ’s Hospital, which was recently designated by the state as a Regional Perinatal Center, and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Under construction is The Child Health Institute of New Jersey, a biomedical research center being built by UMDNJ, and a Ronald McDonald House. Additionally, there are plans for ChildrenÂ’s Specialized Hospital to build the stateÂ’s largest, inpatient pediatric rehabilitation hospital on the campus.
