New Studies: Wisconsin's Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) Generate $3.77 Billion in State Economic Activity Annually; $1.37 Billion in Milwaukee Metro Area Alone

With Over 58,000 Jobs Supported Statewide, SNFs Key to Driving State Economic Recovery, Employment; DC Entitlement Reform Discussion Spotlights Importance of Medicare as Cornerstone of Local Jobs Base

MILWAUKEE, June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With concerns mounting about the strength and sustainability of the U.S. economic recovery, and as several different approaches to federal entitlement reform now under discussion in Washington, D.C., the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today released independent studies spotlighting the importance of Wisconsin's skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to the state's economic and jobs base. The DC-based Alliance and a Milwaukee-based business leader said strong federal Medicare funding in the year ahead will remain critical to shoring up a fragile state Medicaid system as local facilities remain a cornerstone of Wisconsin's and the nation's rural, suburban and urban economic and jobs base.

The separate studies – one detailing the annual economic and jobs output of SNFs in each state, and the other detailing output in the nation's 50 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) – find that SNFs generate $3.77 billion in economic activity annually, help create 58,407 local jobs, and directly employ 40,431 Wisconsin workers. The MSA study finds that the Milwaukee/Waukesha MSA alone ranks 30th nationally in terms of SNF economic output and jobs creation, generating $1.37 billion annually, helping create 11,792 jobs, and directly supporting 8,106 jobs in-state.

"As extremely critical entitlement reform discussions continue in Washington, and as the strength of the economic recovery is a point of growing discussion, we will raise awareness of the fact Wisconsin's nursing facilities are the state's second largest health facility employer, after only hospitals, and a vital pillar to the state's jobs and economic strength," stated Alan G. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance. "Strong federal Medicare funding will always be critical to maintaining facilities' economic stability as Wisconsin's Medicaid program remains fragile. Localizing the significance of nursing facilities to the jobs base throughout urban, suburban and rural Wisconsin – and detailing the immense value of patient rehabilitation -- will be central components of our educational effort with members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation as key health and economic deliberations proceed."

Bob Hillis, President and CEO of Milwaukee-based Direct Supply, Inc., the nation's largest supplier of equipment, resources and technology to SNFs throughout America, said his mission will be to help ensure lawmakers in Wisconsin and other states fully comprehend the fact that Medicare and Medicaid funding are not just vital to meeting local seniors' care needs, but are also critical to local economies and jobs. "Skilled nursing facilities are not just the biggest and most reliable employer throughout much of rural Wisconsin and rural America, they and the suppliers who provide goods and services to facilities are primary local economic drivers and job creators," Hillis said. "What occurs in Washington, D.C. in regard to potential entitlement reform changes will have an enormous ripple effect throughout local communities in Wisconsin and throughout the nation."

Rosenbloom and Hillis pointed out that Medicare and Medicaid funds three of every four nursing facility patients' care, and that a full seventy percent of facility costs are labor-related. "A multitude of businesses throughout Wisconsin depend upon viable partnerships with local skilled nursing facilities to sustain their operations," Hillis continued. "This includes businesses like medical suppliers, food distributors, transportation providers, bed linen suppliers, cleaning services and many others. As these companies have struggled with a lengthy economic downturn, policymakers should ensure entitlement discussions take all of these local economic considerations and variables into account, and the Alliance, its members, and SNF suppliers like Direct Supply plan to step up our activity here in Wisconsin and across the nation to raise awareness of this reality."

Additional State and MSA Data Findings Available for Comparison Purposes at www.aqnhc.org

SOURCE Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care