The UIC Health Sciences Campus – Rockford significantly impacts the economy of the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) through direct expenditures as a purchaser of goods and services. With nearly 400 employees in Rockford, over $25.1 million is spent annually in payroll and an additional $11.2 million is spent in support of its operations, research and clinical programs. The campus provides an additional $7.3 million to the Rockford MSA through the expenditures of its students and visitors. The added income created by the UIC Health Sciences Campus – Rockford in Fiscal Year 2014-15 is $58.2 million – equivalent to supporting 898 jobs.
Beginning fall of 2017, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford (UI-COMR) will welcome 55 new first-year medical students (M1s) to the Rockford campus, transforming the curriculum, recruiting new faculty and staff, and renovating its facilities to position the college for future growth. This strategic initiative will have a positive impact on the Rockford MSA.
The M1 expansion project will generate $3.1 million in capital and operational spending in preparation for the arrival of M1 students. This spending will impact the region in three ways:
- SHORT-RUN M1 PROGRAM EXPANSION SPENDING IMPACTS
In total, $3.1 million will be spent on the M1 program in advance of the students arriving on campus in 2017. Of this $3.1 million, $1 million will be spent recruiting faculty and staff to support and implement the M1 program. The remaining $2.1 million will be spent on construction and renovations. This will create new economic activity that will ripple throughout the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area (Rockford MSA).This new economic activity has an estimated present value of $1.5 million in added income to the Rockford MSA economy, equivalent to creating 21 new jobs.
- LONG-RUN M1 PROGRAM OPERATIONS SPENDING IMPACTS
Jobs will be created from the M1 expansion project as faculty and staff will be added to support the additional students and transformed curriculum. These additional instructors, and their associated day-to-day operational expenditures, will generate impact beginning in 2017.Additional M1 operations spending from 2017 to 2035 will create a present value of $23.1 million in labor income and $4.1 million in nonlabor income. This $27.2 million in added income is equivalent to creating 360 new jobs.
The Rockford MSA will benefit from an annual impact of $1.9 million in added income, equivalent to creating 25 new jobs each year
- LONG-RUN M1 STUDENT SPENDING IMPACTS
The M1 program at UI-COMR will attract students from outside the region to the Rockford MSA earlier in their medical education. These students would have otherwise spent their first year on the Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Peoria campuses.The M1 students will spend money on housing, entertainment, groceries, and transportation within the region. This spending will create a present value of $3 million in labor income and $2.1 million in non-labor income. Adding $5.1 million in income to the Rockford MSA is equivalent to creating 93 new jobs.
The Rockford MSA will benefit from an annual impact of $353,871 in added income, equivalent to creating 6 new jobs each year.
For additional notes and data relating to the economic impact of this project visit these pages:
- http://rockford.medicine.uic.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_442934/File/UICR_OnePager_FactSheet.pdf
- http://rockford.medicine.uic.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=515172&pageId=32198148
- http://rockford.medicine.uic.edu/UserFiles/Servers/Server_442934/File/UICR_Capital_M1_FactSheet.pdf
