Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has a positive financial impact on the local community and state, estimated at more than $4.2 billion according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA).

The report found that, in 2021, NGMC generated $4,274,218,473 in revenue for the local and state economy; provided more than $70 million in total estimated charity care; and sustained nearly 15,000 full-time jobs throughout the region and state – in addition to more than 9,000 people directly employed by Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS). The more than $70 million in total estimated charity care, which provides financial assistance to people who meet certain criteria and cannot afford to pay all or portions of their medical bills, doesn’t include unpaid bills that are written off or nearly $12 million NGMC provided in community outreach such as free screenings and health education.

The report revealed that, in 2021, NGMC had direct expenditures of more than $1.8 billion. When combined with an economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the total economic impact of those expenditures was more than $4.2 billion. This output multiplier considers the “ripple” effect of direct hospital expenditures on other sectors of the economy such as medical supplies, durable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Economic multipliers are used to model the impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

“Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, NGHS remained focused on our mission of improving the health of our community in all we do,” said Carol Burrell, president and CEO of NGHS. “We recognized the need to keep our expansion projects – like the new campus in Lumpkin County, new medical office buildings, the new tower in Gainesville and the acquisition of Habersham Medical Center – on track to support the healthcare needs of communities across northeast Georgia. It’s a pleasant surprise to look up from all that work and see how that focus creates ripples, strengthening our local economy.”

This report does not include the addition of Habersham Medical Center, as the hospital is not yet a part of NGMC. The latest report from the Georgia Hospital Association estimates Habersham Medical Center’s local and state economic impact at $117 million. Habersham Medical Center (HMC) will officially join Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) on July 1, 2023. The figures in the GHA study also only reflect the economic impact of hospital expenditures and do not include the impact of other services, such as physician offices and long-term care facilities, provided by NGHS.