This article was included in the “Your Community, Your Self” Community Benefits Report for Spring 2012. View the complete index of articles and content, or download the full PDF (four pages).
Study underway to update previous estimate of economic impact by Self Regional Healthcare
Greenwood photo by Carl Brock.
In addition to the goodwill contributions by Self Regional Healthcare described elsewhere in this report and to be described in subsequent reports as part of this series, we will be reporting on the economic impact of Self Regional Healthcare on Greenwood County and the surrounding six counties of the Lakelands.
Self Regional’s economic impact begins with the hospital’s direct financial outlays and then accounts for the resulting purchases by organizations and individuals with whom our operation does business. Economic impact studies use multipliers to determine a total economic impact. To illustrate the idea of multipliers, consider when a team member at Self Regional spends money at a gas station, for example. That purchase supports the payroll responsibilities of the attendant, who in turn will buy groceries, pay rent, and so on.
The most recent economic impact study for Self Regional Healthcare was completed in 2005 by the Clemson University Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory. That study reported the economic and fiscal impacts of Self Regional Healthcare on Greenwood County, South Carolina and the six adjacent counties in the region (Abbeville, Edgefield, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda). The study cited two principal parts to the findings: impacts on the private sector and impacts on local government revenues.
Impact on Private Sector: Self Regional Healthcare impacts the local economy through three principal sources of expenditures: payroll spending by SRH employees; the purchase of materials, supplies, and services by SRH required to provide daily health services; and periodic new construction expenditures. These expenditures have the following total (direct plus indirect) private sector impacts on the economies of Greenwood County and the region.
• $139 million in annual income for residents of the seven-county region, with $110 million accruing to residents of Greenwood County
• 3,708 direct and related jobs in the seven-county region, with 3,025 in Greenwood County
Impact on the Local Public Sector: Self Regional Healthcare generates local public sector revenues through three principal sources: local property taxes paid by SRH employees, local option sales taxes, and local property taxes and business fees paid by private firms that provide goods and services to the SRH employees and SRH related business activity. Total local revenues attributable to SRH were $5.9 million.
We will update Self Regional’s economic impact figures and report the findings in an upcoming report in this series.