MUSC’S economic impact on the Charleston economy calculated at $1.65 billion

The Medical University of South Carolina employs 8,000 people but some 21,000 additional jobs exist as a result of the institution’s impact on the Charleston economy, calculated in a new report Friday at $1.65 billion.

The study was produced by College of Charleston economist Frank Hefner, who described its figures as conservative. It’s the first such report the university has commissioned in seven years, when it concluded the university had a $1.2 billion economic impact on the region.

The latest report underscores what officials say is the often-overlooked impact the university has on the Charleston area.

“In most communities, unless there’s the threat of a loss of a hospital closing, people don’t think of the jobs created in the healthcare sector,” said Dr. Ray Greenberg, MUSC’s president. “In many communities, it’s the largest employer. (MUSC) has a genuine economic impact on the community at large.”

The $1.65 billion includes what the university and its faculty, staff, students and visitors spend and the indirect effects of that spending on regional income.

Not included is the impact of construction, a huge number that is only expected to grow in the coming years as the university builds a new hospital downtown.

The economic impact of MUSC-related construction over the past four years was $245 million, according to the report. The economic impact of the first phase of the proposed university hospital, if it were to cost just $200 million, would be $312 million. The hospital’s expected price is $237.8 million.

The report also emphasizes the growing influence of research at the university and its impact on the regional economy.

Research-related spending at the university, expected to be more than $124 million this year, has a $188 million impact, generating more than 5,000 jobs at MUSC and other companies. That number is only expected to grow, as the number of research awards is estimated to exceed $220 million by 2006.

The university is intent on attracting more research dollars, particularly as other funding sources such as state allocations dry up.

Such spending is viewed as an economic development tool, one that could generate spin-off companies that provide well-paying jobs.

“One of the direct benefits of a vibrant research enterprise is the high-paying jobs it provides, the quality of people it brings into the community,” Greenberg said.

In general, much of the university’s impact comes from money brought into the community, Hefner said.

Most of the research funds come from the federal government or outside companies and organizations, and many of the university’s patients are on Medicare or Medicaid, most of which is funded with federal dollars.

“We used to think in terms of the Navy base as outside money just plopping into Charleston, creating jobs,” Hefner said. “The hospital to some extent is like that also.”

There are other advantages to having an institution of MUSC’s size and prestige in the region that aren’t quantified but are mentioned in the report, most notably those related to education and the higher earning potential of the university’s graduates. Universities are also used for economic development purposes to underscore a region’s livability.

And retirees, who can be valuable to an economy, are more likely to move to an area with good medical facilities.

One other point Hefner noted is that there’s little danger of the community losing this “impact,” as it lost the Navy base and shipyards.

“It provides a constancy for us here,” he said of MUSC. “It’s stable, and it’s growing.”