News Releases

July 27 , 2005
West Georgia Medical Center generates $114.3 million to Troup’s economy

Atlanta – On average, West Georgia Health System in LaGrange generates $114.3 million in revenue each year for the local economy, according to a recent report commissioned by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s larges hospital trade association. The report also found that, from 2004 to 2013, an average of 1,493 jobs will exist annually because of the 276-bed hospital.

The document reports figures only for hospitals throughout Georgia and does not incorporate figures for other West Georgia Health System divisions including Florence Hand Home, Twin Fountains Home, West Georgia Home Care, West Georgia Dialysis, West Georgia Hospice and WGHS’ outpatient services.

The study utilizes an economic modeling package, developed by Regional Dynamics, Inc. and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, which comprehensively estimates the flow and impact of resources among all industries and all counties in the United States.  The report forecasts the overall impact of 153 Georgia hospitals on their home counties and on the State of Georgia from 2004 to 2013 and measures three key areas of regional economic health: total employment, wages and output (i.e. sales, or revenue). The analysis produced the following findings:

• In 2003, West Georgia Medical Center provided almost $9.4 million in medical services free of charge to area citizens;
• From 2004 to 2013, the continued presence of West Georgia Medical Center will result in an average of $54.2 million worth of wages paid per year locally. During the 10-year period, the total wages paid to local residents will be  $542.5 million; and
• From 2004 to 2013, West Georgia Medical Center will pump about $1.1 billion in additional revenue into local businesses.

“This new report shows that West Georgia Medical Center has an enormous impact on our local economy which makes us very proud,” said WGHS President/CEO Jerry Fulks. “We are pleased to be able to enhance the economic viability of our area while continuing to do what we do best; provide high-quality, cost-effective health care services to the citizens of this community.”

While West Georgia Medical Center remains a major component of the area’s economic engine, the hospital’s leadership, like the rest of the Georgia hospital community, is concerned about the impact of continued cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Despite the fact that the cost of treating patients has risen and enrollment in these programs continues to grow steadily, state and federal lawmakers continue to pass dramatic spending reductions in Medicare/Medicaid to help ease government budget shortfalls.

“We are extremely concerned with this alarming trend,” said Fulks. “We’ve made a commitment to every citizen of this community to be on call for them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But our ability to do so is being compromised when, in many cases, we’re being paid less that what it actually costs to treat a patient.”

Currently, many hospitals throughout the state, especially those in rural areas, are waged in a week-to-week battle to avoid closure. In fact, according to the 2003 Division of Health Planning Hospital Planning Survey, 98 out of 165 hospitals in Georgia – or 59 percent – had negative operating margins for payments for patient care services. Earlier this year, the 125-bed Southwest Hospital and Medical Center in Atlanta lost its battle for survival when it became the 15th Georgia hospital since 1998 to close its doors as a result of financial hardships. According to Fulks, state lawmakers must work to protect the state’s health care system with the same fervor that they do other initiatives like education and public utilities.

“Our local health care system is not dispensable,” Fulks said. “It is the primary guardian of health in our community and is the key building block for everything else in our community including education and economic vitality. It is our hope that our elected lawmakers will do what is necessary to protect our local health care system and preserve access to health care for every resident of Troup County.”