Punching above its weight

Dedicated capital spending / Source: Hospital Association of Rhode Island
Dedicated capital spending / Source: Hospital Association of Rhode Island

Rhode Island must learn to “punch above its weight,” or so say many who talk about economic development efforts in the Ocean State.

If there is one piece of the state’s economy that is doing that already, it’s the health care sector. Based on the latest figures from the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, the total statewide economic impact of hospitals in 2014 was $6.6 billion.

And while that figure is a slight decline from the 2013 figure of $6.9 billion, it represents a significant portion of the state’s economy, roughly 12 percent of Rhode Island’s gross domestic product.

At the same time, the hospital direct employment for 2014 was given by HARI as 19,730, also a slight decline from the 19,900 that the association gave for 2013. That total represents roughly 4 percent of the jobs in Rhode Island.

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Hospitals’ capital spending also generates about $263 million for the local economy each year.

Add it all up, and hospitals in the state have an economic impact that is roughly triple its jobs footprint. It would seem that they are doing their best to build a stronger Rhode Island. •

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