The Economic Impact of Health Care Providers in Del Norte County, California

The primary purpose of this Economic Impact Report is to calculate the contribution of the health sector to the Del Norte economy. In addition to the Supervisors, other policy makers, business and community leaders, health care providers, and all citizens of Del Norte County will find this report valuable for policy making. A key finding of this economic impact report is that the Health Care sector makes a substantial contribution to income and employment in Del Norte County, both due to the direct effects of health care spending and the indirect effects caused by health care spending. This finding is consistent with what others who have studied rural economies have found: Health care providers make important contributions to the county beyond access to health care. A second key finding is that recruiting and retaining additional physicians and other health care workers to Del Norte County in order to keep health care dollars spent locally will have rather large economic benefits in addition to increased access to health care services.