Hospitals add $6.8 billion to Iowa economy

Iowa hospitals generate more than 127,000 jobs that add nearly $6.8 billion to the state's economy, according to a new report from the Iowa Hospital Association. Iowa hospitals directly employ 72,008 people and create another 55,492 jobs outside the hospital sector, the study found. “Through the many changes in health care, there is one certainty: That hospitals and health care are vital to Iowa’s economy,” said IHA president and CEO Kirk Norris. “With nearly 325,000 jobs, health care is one of Iowa’s largest employers, and hospitals remain, by far, the biggest contributor to that number.”