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Region's healthcare industry growing
Austin Business Journal - September 20, 2006

Central Texas' healthcare industry contributes $8.8 billion to the local economy, leading to new opportunities and the need to expand the industry, according to a recent report.

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Opportunity Austin, the Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David's HealthCare Partnership released the report.

Overall, the report found that the healthcare industry has a workforce of 85,466 in Central Texas, which represents 12 percent of the local employment base.

The primary medical sector directly accounted for 5.7 percent of the area's job base last year. The national average, the report says, is 7.1 percent. If Austin would match that number, the report says the city would create an additional $2.3 billion in output, $820 million in earnings and 22,175 new jobs.
"There are many economic benefits to having a strong healthcare industry including the jobs and opportunities they create in a region," says Dave Porter, senior vice president of economic development for the chamber. "The healthcare sector is one of the largest job employers nationwide, and it benefits all of us to know how to increase these jobs in our region."

"This study defines the huge impact health care has in our community -- not only in keeping people healthy, but also our community's economic health," says Seton CEO Charles Barnett. "The healthcare industry's continued growth will define the quality of life we can expect long into the future."

Barnett says in less than 15 years, Seton will need to double in size to keep up with population growth in Central Texas. It will need over 2,000 new nurses and 800 new physicians.

Opportunity Austin hired Texas Perspectives Inc. in early 2006 to evaluate the current and potential economic impact of Austin's primary medical sector. Opportunity Austin is the chamber's five-year economic development initiative aimed at creating 72,000 new jobs in Austin.

"The economic contribution of area hospitals to the local community is virtually unsurpassed by any other industry," says St. David's CEO Jon Foster.

He says, during the last decade, St. David's invested almost a half a billion dollars in its facilities in Central Texas.

"We anticipate unprecedented growth in the coming years," Foster says.

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