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Butler Memorial Hospital contributed more than $260.5 million to the region's economy and supported more than 1,500 jobs in the 2020 fiscal year.
The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania reported that Pennsylvania hospitals generated $155 billion in economic activity in 2020, and support one in nine jobs statewide.
“The overall benefit of BHS approaches half a billion dollars every year,” said BHS president and CEO Ken DeFurio. “You can see what a major economic driver Butler Memorial Hospital is for our community.”
Butler Health System employs more than 3,000 people and more than 270 providers, making it the largest employer in Butler County, according to a news release from the system. It consists of two hospitals and 72 outpatient locations throughout Butler, Clarion, Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties. It also has partnerships with a number of local organizations.
The number of people employed by Butler Memorial Hospital is one reason the economic impact is so large, according to Mark Gordon, chief of economic development and planning for Butler County.
Gordon said the number of people earning salary and wages from the hospital are going out and spending it at local businesses and organizations, which stimulates and circulates money through the area.
“It's those employees' ability to shop locally, to maintain their households and maintain buying clothes for their children and themselves,” Gordon said. “Butler Health System has not just been an economic engine; it has truly been a lives' saver.”
Gordon also said the natural growth of the health system, with it acquiring Clarion Hospital in 2019 and expanding its number of health care clinics over the years, means the economic situation in the county is healthy. He said keeping a community economically healthy relies on not only bringing in new businesses but retaining existing businesses.
“Much of the fabric of the country is driven by the small-business person,” he said. “And it's great to land a new business, a new employer, but you have to keep your eye on your current employers.”
Additionally, the systems of schools, Butler County Community College and Slippery Rock University mean that people are growing up and working in their local hospital, Gordon said.
“Many of those students go right into BHS, and they are not confined to the health system,” Gordon said.
Butler Mayor Ben Smith said that although the hospital is just outside city limits, it is a positive aspect for people coming into Butler. “A lot of our citizens work there who live in Butler; they've got a lot of good practices,” Smith said. “People who want to come live here, they like having it so close by.”
Andy Carter, president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, said the COVID-19 pandemic affected hospitals across the state financially, but their work in health care has more or less never been more important.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the financial strain on hospitals, and it's not over yet,” Carter said.
Gordon said the economic impacts of a hospital are not the reason for their longevity; it's the services they provide. He said that is the true value of Butler Memorial Hospital.
“We have been blessed to have them right in our region, and quite honestly, they have been very instrumental in helping us navigate COVID-19,” Gordon said. “We don't ever want to envision Butler County without them.”
