Perimeter Hospitals Bring More Than $3 Billion Annually to Metro Region

Highlights from a luncheon panel of hospital and medical industry professional..

• St. Joseph’s and Northside Hospitals, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite have a $3.04 billion economic impact annually on the Metro Atlanta region.

•  Northside Hospital sees 600,000 patients per year and employs 6,000 full and part-time workers with 3,000 on site daily including 400 to 500 physicians.

•  The three hospitals in Perimeter employ 8,756 full and part-time, which in turn creates 18,825 jobs for the economy.

•  Kaiser has a direct economic impact of $20 million in salaries.

The major hospitals in Perimeter – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, St. Joseph’s and Northside – have a $3.04 billion economic impact annually on the Metro Atlanta region, an official from the Georgia Hospital Association told nearly 100 business people gathered for a Perimeter Business Alliance program last Friday at Cox Enterprises.

A partner organization of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts, the PBA addresses broad business issues affecting the Central Perimeter Market in Fulton and DeKalb Counties and the cities of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

“The health and wellness panel was the first in a series of luncheon programs initiated by the PBA to identify and clarify the different business categories that drive economic development and make Perimeter the center of excellence,” said Yvonne Williams, President and CEO of the PCIDs and the PBA. 

The three hospitals in Perimeter employ 8,756 full and part-time, which in turn creates 18,825 jobs for the economy, said Glenn Pearson, executive vice president of the Georgia Hospital Association, who was part of the panel of five health care representatives discussing the economic and quality of life impact of Georgia’s largest concentration of medical facilities located in the Perimeter market.

“Just these three institutions make a huge contribution to the economy of the region,” Pearson said.

In addition, Kaiser Permanente, which has a large facility on Glenlake Parkway in the Perimeter Market, has a direct economic impact of $20 million in salaries, said Daniel J. Styf, vice president regional and marketing strategy, who also served on the panel.

Panelists who represented health care providers in the Perimeter market said the convenient access the market provides for people to visit and work at the health care facilities is a competitive advantage over some other markets.

“The Perimeter Market provides easy access to some of the country’s best health care,” said panel moderator Russ Davis, Northside Hospital director of marketing and public relations.  Northside has a staggering 600,000 patient encounters a year and employs 6,000 full and part-time workers with 3,000 on site daily including 400 to 500 physicians,  he said.  

More than 50,000 members annually visit the Kaiser Permanente facility in Perimeter, Styf said.  “It really gives people convenient access to preventive healthcare.  The nearby Sandy Springs MARTA Station makes it easy for employees and patients to get to us.  The transportation infrastructure in Perimeter is a positive.” 

Patients from 67 different zip codes visit the doctors at Piedmont Heart Institute in Perimeter, said Richard Tanzella, the institute’s vice president of operations.  Piedmont Healthcare has 42,000 patient visits a year to its three primary care clinics in Perimeter and 32,000 patient visitors a year to its heart institute in Perimeter, he said. 

And, Tanzella said it is easy for Piedmont Healthcare to recruit physicians for its facilities in Perimeter.  “I can’t over emphasize that,” he said, noting that 60 Piedmont Healthcare physicians live in the area.    

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite has 304,000 patient visits a year and slightly more than 2,000 employees, said panelist David Tatum, vice president of government affairs at the hospital.                    

Davis pointed out that an estimated 20,000 health care workers also are employed at doctors’ offices and other medical facilities that have sprung up around the hospitals.

“Health care is one of the major calling cards for this (Perimeter) area,” said Davis.  “This is a great live, work, play environment.”