Fall 2010 - Eastern Virginia Medical School

Medical student CaitlinValentino explains healthinformation to a visitor at therecent Community Care Day,held in conjunction with theY’s Healthy Kids Day.people to understand how important this institution is to thehealth of the community.”Follow the MoneyHow could EVMS keep area taxes in check? By quietlyinjecting more than $700 million a year into the localeconomy.That’s the overall value that James V. Koch, PhD,president emeritus and Old Dominion University Boardof Visitors Professor of Economics, estimates is generatedannually by EVMS.Dr. Koch, also a member of the EVMS Board of Visitors,authored an economic impact study of the school in 2007.EVMS, he learned, is one of the largest non-governmentemployers in Hampton Roads, and its 1,500 workers arewell paid, averaging nearly $75,000 a year for full-timers— about $30,000 more than the area as a whole.Then there are the more than 800 students — not justdoctors but a wealth of other health-care professionals, manyof whom pay an out-of-state tuition premium to come toEVMS. They spend some $20 million a year.EVMS residents train at local hospitals throughout theregion, and they spend another $5 million a year here, heestimated. Often, they wind up settling in the region aftergraduating.The school buys supplies and employs local contractorsevery time it expands. It is currently in such a major expansion,with a new building under construction which will lead to a30 percent increase in the number of physicians trained, Dr.Pepe says, and a 60 percent increase in physician assistants.When businesses look to locate in an area, one of the keyconsiderations is the quality of health care there, accordingto Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms, a bank presidentand a former member of the EVMS board.“That’s a priority, and that’s something we have here.EVMS is a big part of it,” Mayor Sessoms says.The school’s economic impact is likely to increase as itcontinues to grow and provide more doctors and health-careprofessionals needed to meet increased demand caused byan aging population and recent health-care reforms.A Magnet for Medical ProfessionalsDr. Koch’s conclusion was that the economic impact,although impressive, “does not begin to capture thetremendous contribution the medical school makes to thewelfare of the region.“Our quality of life — and sometimes our actual lives— depends on the good works of EVMS. All of us areenriched by the presence of EVMS. It is not for nothingthat the founding of EVMS in 1973 is regarded by many asthe most significant single event in our region’s history inthe second half of the 20th century.”Scholarly hype? Hardly.“EVMS is so much more important than opening up ahighway, even the MacArthur Mall,” Dr. Koch said in arecent interview. “It’s at a completely different level in itseffect on economic life and the quality of life.”Without EVMS, Hampton Roads would be the largestmetropolitan area in the country without a medical school.And studies show that areas without such schools don’tattract or retain the number of doctors required for qualitycare, Dr. Koch says.24 FALL 2010 www.evms.eduEVMS