Report: Hospitals continue to play a fundamental role in sustaining and growing Oregon economy

St. Charles Health System’s four hospitals continue to have a significant economic impact on Central Oregon, according to the 2019 ECONorthwest Economic Impact Report.

In 2017, St. Charles’ four hospitals combined directly employed 4,254 people, and through supply chain and consumption-driven efforts, were associated with another 4,324 secondary jobs in other sectors of the Oregon economy. Together, the hospitals’ contribution to the Gross State Product was about $765 million.

Specifically:

• In Crook County, St. Charles Prineville directly employed 173 people and was associated with another 109 secondary jobs. The hospital contributed almost $26 million to the Gross State Product.
• In Deschutes County, St. Charles Bend and St. Charles Redmond directly employed 3,907 people and were associated with another 4,135 secondary jobs. The hospitals’ combined contribution to the Gross State Product was about $720 million.
• In Jefferson County, St. Charles Madras directly employed 174 people and was associated with another 80 secondary jobs. The hospital contributed about $19.6 million to the Gross State Product.

The report—released earlier this month by the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems— shows that overall hospitals continue to play a fundamental role in sustaining and growing the economy, supporting 137,839 direct and secondary jobs statewide. This means that more than one in 20 jobs in Oregon is supported at least in part by hospitals and health systems.

In 2017, Oregon hospitals’ direct and secondary economic output was a combined $20.9 billion while Gross State Product totaled more than $12 billion.