GAINESVILLE - A growing healthcare sector employs approximately 14.6 percent of the workforce in Hall County, according to a Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce study released this week.
The visual geographic information system study involved 339 healthcare providers in the county, including a variety of medical and dental service providers, according to the chamber.
The 14.6 percent translates to 11,520 employees in the county. The average salary for the healthcare sector in the county is just over $50,000, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The math reflects an annual payroll for the sector at $575 million, according to the chamber.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) in Gainesville anchors what the chamber calls the epicenter of physicians groups, dental and specialty medical services, independent clinics and elder care facilities. The hospital employs 4700 people.
“According to annual reports produced by the Georgia Hospital Association, NGMC provides an economic impact on our local and state economies that is greater than $1 billion, and we know the majority of that impact is made here in our local community and region," Carol Burrell, President and CEO for Northeast Georgia Health System commented for a chamber release.
NGMC's Gainesville campus is the largest provider in the study that shows nearly 80 percent of healthcare employment in the county concentrated in Gainesville.
While Gainesville tops the list, the study also focuses on south Hall County, where Northeast Georgia Health System opened a new hospital in Braselton earlier this year. Similar to the health system's hospital in Gainesville, the Braselton campus is becoming surrounded by a growing number of healthcare providers.
On the education front, the Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative has found that the healthcare sector is a high-demand field, with expected growth in the state over the next decade.
Higher education institutions in the county, like the University of North Georgia, Lanier Technical College and Brenau University play a big role in providing education and training for the sector, according to the chamber.
Part of the study included interviews with developers in the county, seeking their take on the impact of the healthcare sector.
“As Hall County has become North Georgia’s healthcare epic center, the economic impact has rippled across the country’s fabric impacting commercial office space, employment, consumer spending, residential housing, senior healthcare and active adult living communities and professional services. Not since the development of our poultry components in the 1950’s has one business sector had as powerful an impact," Frank Norton, Jr., CEO/Chairman of Norton Commercial told the chamber.
The chamber study began in June and compared data from sources, including the Georgia Department of Labor, Businesswise 2015 data and over 100 phone calls and emails with chamber members in the healthcare community.
2015 Geographic Study of Gainesville-Hall County
- Gainesville-Hall County provides Healthcare Services for over 500,000 people in a 16-county area across Northeast Georgia.
- The Greater Hall Chamber study includes 339 Hall County Healthcare Providers by Employment.
- Gainesville-Hall County’s growing healthcare sector employs 11,520 or approximately 14.6% of the workforce in Hall County.
- The Georgia Department of Labor reports the average salary for the healthcare sector in Hall County is $50,076.
- Healthcare providers in Hall County account for an estimated $575 million in annual payroll.
- Nearly 80% of Hall County’s Healthcare employment is concentrated in the City of Gainesville, with 221 healthcare service provider locations employing 9,159 and an estimated $457 million in annual payroll.
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) in Gainesville has 4,700 employees.
- According to the Georgia Hospital Association, NGMC provides an economic impact on our local and state economies that is greater than $1 billion.
- The study also highlights other growing concentrations of healthcare service providers in South Hall County, employing nearly 2,000 in Braselton, Oakwood, Flowery Branch and Buford.
- Started in 2014, the Governor’s High Demand Career concluded that healthcare is one of the high-demand career fields anticipated to grow over the next five to ten years in Georgia.
- According to the Georgia Department of Labor, employment in healthcare services is expected to grow 2.8% per year and add nearly 140,000 jobs across Georgia through 2022.
Source, Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.
