The efforts of the Camden Higher Education and Healthcare Task Force continue to benefit the entire City of Camden, having a total economic impact in 2014 exceeding $2 billion and generating more than 2,300 new jobs at its anchor institutions—CAMcare, Camden County College, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Cooper University Health Care, Lourdes Health System, Rowan University/Rutgers Camden Board of Governors, Rutgers-Camden and Virtua—according to an economic impact report released earlier today at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
The report, which includes collaborative data from 2010 to 2014, details how Task Force members, also referred to as Eds and Meds, have collectively had a significant and positive financial impact on Camden’s economy.
“Whether it’s creating more jobs, increasing overall pay or providing better access to health care and higher education, the Eds and Meds have impacted Camden’s health and well-being in numerous ways, both concrete and intangible,” said Task Force Chair Louis S. Bezich, Senior Vice President Strategic Alliances at Cooper University Health Care.
Highlights of the report include:
- In 2014, total economic impact exceeded $2 billion in capital expenditures, operating expenses and wages.
- Between 2011 and 2014, Task Force members completed or started construction on major capital projects exceeding $430 million.
- Payroll at Task Force institutions grew from approximately $565 million to $797 million.
- The Eds and Meds are the city’s largest employers, representing 40 percent of all jobs in Camden. From 2010 to 2014, the number of jobs at Task Force Institutions grew 25 percent.
- Of the 12,060 people employed at Task Force Institutions, nine percent were Camden residents.
- In 2014, Camden’s acute care health care institutions had more than 251,000 inpatient and emergency visits combined. Of these, 41 percent were Camden residents.
- Camden’s institutions of higher education, total enrollment in baccalaureate and advance degree programs increased 5 percent from 2010 to 2014. The number of Camden students enrolled at these institutions in all types of programs increased 11 percent.
Today, its members remain committed to their role as an economic driver by investing both financially and socially through capital projects and research activities in the community they are privileged to serve.
In attendance today were executives from each of the Task Force’s nine member institutions. In addition to Bezich, invited speakers included: President and Chief Executive Officer Adrienne Kirby, PhD, FACHE, Cooper University Health Care; Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01); Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr., Camden County Board of Freeholders; and Mayor Dana Redd, of the City of Camden.
“The Eds and Meds are here at work, paving the way for the City of Camden to become a world-class research hub and magnet for knowledge-based industries,” said Rep. Norcross.
According to Freeholder Cappelli, “The robust growth and expansion of our Eds and Meds Network in Camden and the county has provided a transformational boost to economic development and the job market.”
Camden Mayor Redd cited the organizations’ impact on Camden’s renaissance. “Our city’s educational and medical institutions have not only played a large role in the physical redevelopment of Camden but contributed to the overall revitalization of the city.”
Click here to view the The Camden Higher Education and Healthcare Task Force Economic Impact Report.