Phil Castle, The Business Times

Community Hospital accounted for nearly $285 million in economic contributions in 2022, according to a report that considered direct, indirect and induced  effects.

The report affirms the role of Community Hospital in promoting good health — economic and otherwise
— said Chris Thomas, president and chief executive officer. “We’re improving the health and well-being of this community.”

With an expanding staff offering more services — along with the opening of a cancer center and medical plaza — Thomas said he expects that role to continue growing.

Community Hospital was among six independent hospitals and members of the Western Healthcare Alliance that participated in the report prepared by the business research division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The alliance provides education and other collaborative programs to a total of 31 health care providers in Colorado and Utah. The other five hospitals were Animas Surgical Hospital in Durango, San Luis Valley Health in Alamosa, Montrose Regional Health in Montrose, Vail Health Hospital in Vail and Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs.

Between 2019 and 2022, the combined economic contributions of the six hospitals totaled $6.8 billion. For 2022 alone, the hospitals generated a total of $1.9 billion in economic output.

Every $1 spent by the six hospitals in 2022 produced an overall economic impact of $1.72, the report calculated, as spending by the hospitals led to spending in other areas of the economy.

Community Hospital employed the equivalent of 1,209 full-time staff in 2022 and supported another 725 jobs for a total of $141 million in labor income.

Fully 96.3 percent of Community Hospital employees lived in Mesa County, the highest proportion to live in the same counties in which the six hospitals are located.

The direct, indirect and induced effects of Community Hospital added a total of $167.1 million in value to the economy.

Total output came to $284.8 million.

That ranked third among the six hospitals behind Valley View Hospital at $659 million and Vail Health Hospital at $475.5 million. Valley View accounted for total employment of 3,313, while Vail Health accounted for total employment of 2,894.

Thomas said the report reflects the economic contributions of independent hospitals and how wages and other spending ripple through the communities in which they’re located.

In many rural areas, hospitals rank among the largest employers and tend to pay higher wages. That helps to stabilize local economies when business cycles affect other industries, he said.

All those attributes are true of Community Hospital as well, Thomas said. “It just shows the impact Community Hospital provides.”

Thomas said the report doesn’t take into account additional staffing at Community Hospital since 2022 or the construction of a cancer center and medical plaza that opened earlier this year.

The hospital recruited the equivalent of 103 full-time positions in 2023 as well as 29 physicians, he said. Staffing is expected to continue to grow as the hospital expands and adds services.

Construction of the four-story, 130,000-square-foot James Pulsipher Regional Cancer Center and Monument Medical Plaza cost $60 million, and
97 percent of that went to local contractors and vendors, Thomas said. The total cost of the project topped $82 million.

Combining the 22 months of construction on the project and initial 10 years of its operation, the gross economic output in the region is projected to total nearly $550 million and account for an additional 1,018 jobs.

The contributions of Community Hospital extend beyond jobs and economic effects, Thomas said, in enabling patients to  receive a range of health care services without having to leave the Grand Valley.

“Hopefully, we’re helping people feel better and live longer and improve the quality of their lives. Hopefully, this is a healthier and happier place because of Community Hospital.”