PORT JEFFERSON, NY – Mather Hospital had an economic impact on the local economy of $712 million with 4,000 jobs created during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) economic impact report.
The figures, which draw on 2020 data, looked at the economic impact of hospitals across the state. “The economic activity generated by hospitals through jobs and the purchase of goods and services makes up 10.6% of the state’s entire gross domestic product,” according to the HANYS report. “New York hospitals generate significant tax dollars and stimulate the economies of local communities and the whole state.”
“Even more important than the substantial economic impact of the hospital on the communities we serve is the impact we have had on the lives and health of our patients and staff,” said Mather Hospital Executive Director Kevin McGeachy. “This has been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed an extraordinary burden on our entire staff to maintain the best possible healthcare for our patients while fighting a virus that constantly mutated and challenged us. As the report states, our top investment was in our own staff, to provide them with the resources needed to do their jobs and the support to maintain their mental and physical health.”
“Patient volume patterns were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,” the report stated. “Even with surges of COVID-19 patients across the state, inpatient volumes were down 11% on average from 2019 to 2020; emergency room visits dropped by 20%, with overall outpatient volumes dropping by 12%. While each hospital experience during 2020 was different, these downward volume trends show just part of the pandemic’s impact on healthcare utilization and hospital financials statewide.”
Mather Hospital had $214 million in payroll expenditures in 2020, generated $116 million in tax dollars and contributed $63 million in community benefits and investment, according to the HANYS report.
During that same period, the hospital served 154,000 patients, including 30,000 in the Emergency Department and 9,200 admitted to the hospital. The report found that 71 percent of inpatient discharges and 52 percent of outpatient visits at Mather were covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
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About Mather Hospital
Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high-quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion, respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has twice earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American
Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. Mather was rated high performing by U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings in colon cancer, COPD, geriatrics, heart failure, kidney disease, lung cancer surgery, orthopedics, and urology for2021-2022. For further information about Mather Hospital, visit matherhospital.org or follow us @MatherHospital on Facebook.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals, 830 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 77,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.