| Impact of Proposed Germantown Hospital: State and Local Jobs, Revenue and Nurses
 The construction and operation of Holy Cross Germantwon Hospital on the Germantown Campus of Montgomery College would help to create nearly 6,000 jobs in Maryland and provide a major boost to local business sales and county and state tax revenues, according to a study by the Sage Policy Group.
Holy Cross had commissioned Sage Policy Group - a Baltimore-based firm that performs economic studies across the mid-Atlantic region - to analyze the employment, economic and fiscal impacts of its new hospital proposal.
"It is difficult to imagine that another similarly-sized hospital could produce this level of potential economic impact," said economist Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group. "The hospital could ultimately unleash the creation of more than 5,700 jobs in Maryland, the majority of which would be in Montgomery County."
The Sage study found that:
- Construction of Holy Cross Germantown hospital would create 1,109 construction-related jobs statewide, and support sales of $150 million worth of goods to Maryland business establishments.
- When in operation, the hospital will support 1,548 jobs statewide and spur local business sales of $216 million per year.
- Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will lead to a doubling of the number of nursing students graduating from Montgomery College's program by 2012, substantially increasing the lifetime earning power for each graduate, with sales of $250 million per year.
- As the new hospital expands, it is projected to support more than 3,300 jobs statewide within 10 to 15 years.
- Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will jumpstart Montgomery College's Science & Technology Park, which has the potential to create 2,360 jobs (in addition to the 3,362 long-term jobs created by the hospital).
- The hospital will create new streams of revenue for both Montgomery County and Maryland, including an additional $2 million annually in county income taxes and $4.8 million annually in state income and sales taxes.
- Holy Cross Germantown Hospital is also slated to add as much as one million square feet of office, lab and medical space to the campus and boost technology-based business development in Montgomery County.
On May 31, 2012, the Maryland Health Care Commission gave final unanimous approval of Holy Cross Hospital's plans to build the new hospital in Germantown and reissued its Certificate of Need.
"We are pleased with the reaffirmation of our plans to expand health care access in upper Montgomery County and will proceed immediately with construction of the new hospital," said Kevin J. Sexton, president and CEO of Holy Cross Hospital.
With nonresidential construction activity in Montgomery County near an all-time low, Basu said that the construction of Holy Cross Germantown Hospital comes at a particularly important time for the county's economic recovery.
"Given the significant decline in the construction market, this project could serve as an important economic stimulus for both Montgomery County and the state as a whole," Basu said.
Montgomery College Officials Give Full Support to Building Holy Cross Germantown Hospital
"We think the addition of Holy Cross Hospital to our Germantown campus offers a remarkable opportunity for our current and future students, faculty and staff. We look forward to being able to double the number of students who successfully complete our nursing program and be a catalyst for more jobs in upcounty and throughout the region and state."
- Dr. Hercules Pinkney, president emeritus,Montgomery College
"We have carefully examined this proposal, and we believe it will significantly improve the education we can offer our students."
- Dr. Michael C. Lin, Ph.D., Montgomery College's Board of Trustees
"The Montgomery College Foundation is excited to realize the potential promised by a public-private partnership in the growing life sciences industry. Having Holy Cross come in as both the anchor tenant and programmatic partner is essential to our ability to help Montgomery College students take advantage of this."
- Douglas M. Firstenberg, chairman of the Montgomery College Foundation Board of Directors |
