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September 20, 2018

Nashville Health Care Industry Grows, Contributes $46.7 Billion to Local Economy

Nashville Health Care Industry Grows, Contributes $46.7 Billion to Local Economy

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Nashville Health Care Council Releases Results of Economic Impact Study

Nashville’s thriving health care ecosystem contributes $46.7 billion and 273,000 jobs to the local economy annually, according to the results of a new study released today by the Nashville Health Care Council. The study was conducted by The Research Center at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and details the financial scope and geographic reach of the city’s health care industry.

“This report reaffirms that health care is indeed the cornerstone of Nashville’s economy and solidifies our position as our nation’s health care epicenter,” said Hayley Hovious, president of the Nashville Health Care Council. “These remarkable numbers are a testament to Nashville’s entrepreneurial spirit and reveal unprecedented growth amid the dynamic changes in this transformative era in the American health care industry. They also capture just a part of what makes it such an exciting time to be in Nashville right now.”

Nashville’s health care community has grown steadily since 1968, when HCA was founded. Since then, Nashville has evolved to be an incubator of health care innovation and services. Currently, the report estimates that over 500 health care companies and nearly 400 professional services firms operate in Nashville.

Key findings from the study include:

  • Total revenue of Nashville-based health care cluster totals over $92 billion, accruing from 176 parent health care firms in the region.
  • The Nashville-based health care cluster employs over 570,000 people worldwide.
  • On an annual basis, the health care industry in the Nashville region accounts for over $46.7 billion in total impact and contribution to the area economy. This is a 20% increase from the 2015 economic impact study.
  • The presence of the Nashville health care industry helps to create and sustain more than 273,000 jobs within the Nashville region across many industry sectors, including retail and wholesale trade, real estate and finance, and many other subsectors, including the health care industry cluster.
  • The Nashville health care sector comprises some 514 health care firms and 378 professional service firms wholly or largely connected with the cluster within the Nashville MSA.
  • The role of health care industry operations in the Nashville area supports over $26.9 billion in labor income annually. This total represents over a quarter – or 27.5 percent – of all earnings and income in the Nashville MSA.
  • The Nashville health care sector delivers further economic contributions to the regional economy with further positive impacts through annual state and local tax revenue in excess of $1.6 billion, composed of significant levels of business taxes along with other taxes and fees.
  • Health care cluster presence in the Nashville MSA adds stability to the economy through employment levels that have increased in recent years and are projected to rise in the next decade ahead.
  • Nashville health care companies own and operate facilities at 3,453 individual locations across the United States.
  • There are sites managed by Nashville health care firms in 49 of the 50 states.

“Nashville is continuing to do extremely well for employers and employees. Unemployment remains at historically low levels and we rank in the top five regions nationally for both wage growth and overall economic growth,” said Mayor David Briley. “At the very bedrock of this incredible prosperity is our health care industry cluster and I remain thankful to all our global industry leaders who call Nashville home.”

The numbers were officially unveiled and discussed at the Council’s panel discussion, “Celebrating 50 Years of HCA,” Sept. 20 at War Memorial Auditorium.

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