Rockdale Medical Center Generates $275,417,655 for Local and State Economy

In 2014, Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, Georgia generated more than $275 Million in revenue for the local and state economy, according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest hospital trade association. The report also found that, during the same time period, Rockdale Medical Center provided approximately $11,699,263 in uncompensated care while sustaining 3,041 full-time jobs throughout Conyers and the rest of the state.

The report revealed that Rockdale Medical Center had direct expenditures of more than $120,553,994 in 2014. 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 $275,417,655. 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 resulting impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

“While Rockdale Medical Center is well known for its role in meeting the health care needs of the residents of Conyers, Georgia and surrounding areas, it also plays an integral role in protecting our area’s economic health,” said Deborah Armstrong, CEO of Rockdale Medical Center. “We are so appreciative of the Conyers and Rockdale community’s unwavering support of their local hospital and will continue to work hard to ensure that the residents of this area have access to the best and safest health care services available.”

While Rockdale 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 a wide array of economic challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s health care needs, including a fast-growing uninsured population and inadequate payments from government insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid. Presently, 41 percent of all hospitals in Georgia are operating with negative margins.

“We’re extremely concerned about the current operating environment for hospitals,” said Deborah Armstrong, “We’ve made a commitment to every citizen of this community to be there for them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, our ability to do so is being compromised when so many of our patients are either uninsured or severely underinsured.”

According to Armstrong, 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 indispensable,” says Armstrong. “It is not only the primary guardian of health in our community, but it is also a major economic engine in this area that is responsible for 3,041 jobs. It is our hope that our elected lawmakers will join us in our efforts to protect our local health care system and preserve access to health care for every resident Rockdale County and the surrounding areas.”

Rockdale Medical Center is a 138-bed acute-care hospital that offers an extensive range of inpatient and outpatient services and leading-edge technology. Rockdale Medical Center is fully accredited by The Joint Commission which evaluates hospital patient care for quality, safety and value. Rockdale Medical Center is part of LifePoint Health®, a leading hospital company focused on providing quality healthcare services close to home.