When you are a dad of three active children, you are bound at some point to find yourself sitting in an Emergency Room waiting area holding a hurting kid. For those of us living in the Erie area, we are fortunate that within minutes of a mishap, we can experience those wonderful waiting room moments at one of our three area hospitals.

But Erie’s health care system is no longer just reactive to illness. The excellence and sophistication of our organizations have allowed them to turn the page to wellness and a proactive posture in making Erieites healthier. Their commitment to best practice, growth, and forward thinking make our lives literally better.

Don’t forget, however that health care in Erie is big business. Hamot, Millcreek, and St. Vincent’s employ between them over 6,000 workers. According to the 2006 annual reports of Hamot & St. V’s (Millcreek’s was not available), the hospitals generated over $635 million in revenue and spent into the Erie economy almost $620 million, not including the building they both are doing on a regular basis. The hospitals combined were over half as big as our local Fortune 500 member, Erie Insurance, which had operating revenues of $1.134 billion in the same year. You also have to consider the “ripple” effect each hospital brings to the region, greatly exceeding the direct spending the organizations do.

While we are talking numbers, we must consider the amount of free health care that these facilities provide, which is well into 8-figures combined. The economic impact is unquestioned. I think about what incredible machinations our government officials will do to bring in 300 jobs for a juice plant into our area. Meanwhile, Hamot alone in the past five years increased income by $128 million and employment in the hundreds.

What about “outside” money, meaning not just recycling local income but bringing in from outside the area? This will sound controversial, but consider this: St. Vincent’s report indicates that half of their operating revenue comes from either Medicare or Medicaid. That is equivalent to a $142 million federal subsidy of our healthcare system, just at one hospital.

But what about all of that tax-free land they use up? The land that these facilities are buying at market rates has been available for commercial concerns, but no one was willing to pay the freight. The benefit to their building programs will mean higher quality office space stock being built adjacent to the hospitals, and those developers will pay the taxes, after the LERTA period is up.

Good paying, family-sustaining jobs. High technology and constant investment in our community. Thank you to our friends in health-care, who help provide a high-quality life in Erie, the city we love.