When officials at Good Samaritan Hospital celebrated the grand opening of the new $60-million Gibault Memorial Tower in July, city officials and community leaders saw it not only as the culmination of a long-anticipated expansion project but as a very valuable marketing tool as well.
A new hospital, one that offers absolute excellence in health care, can be quite the draw when it comes to attracting new families and businesses alike.
Mayor Joe Yochum, who at the grand opening called the new tower a “beacon of pride,” said having world-class health care right here at home means good things for the growth and staying power of Indiana's oldest city.
“We've got some of the best health care in the country right here,” he said. “I don't think people often realize what they have, and the recent expansion just made it that much better. It has so much to offer.
“There are a lot of communities that would absolutely love to have a hospital like Good Samaritan,” the mayor said. “We are just very very fortunate that we do.”
Good Samaritan Hospital is the largest employer in Knox County, and each of those nearly 2,000 workers pay taxes, money that is spent to improve the community even farther.
Kent Utt, president of the Knox County Development Corp., said revenue from the county Economic Development Income Tax Dollars and the County Option Income Tax is money his organization depends on to continue marketing the area to industry leaders.
“Some of our biggest opportunities are made possible by EDIT and COIT dollars, money that is based on local wages,” he said “That is money that is reallocated to our city and county as a whole.”
And having a world-class healthcare facility, Utt said, also puts the county bin abetter position for grant dollars.
“As you look at getting people to work here, locate here, health care is a big driver,” he said. “Families are looking at quality of life, educational opportunities, and health care plays into that as well.
“Good Samaritan Hospital gives us a leg up when it comes to neighboring counties, communities, even states to have this kind of regional facility.”
Chuck Johnson, interim president of Vincennes University, said the community is already full of amenities that can be used to attract faculty and students alike. But a grand hospital, Johnson said, is another, very useful, tool in the university's already bulging tool bag.
“One of the things we are always concerned about is quality of life for our faculty, students and staff,” he said. “When we are competing for talent, for students, it's great to have world-class health care right here available to our families moving here and to students coming here to learn. That is a very important consideration. Not many communities have that kind of a resource available to them.
“I think it will help us sell VU and our community,” Johnson said. “We already have a lot to offer, but (the hospital expansion) just enhances that, particularly to our faculty and staff. It helps us to compete with those larger, urban centers.”
And Marc McNeece, president of the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, said from a small business standpoint, a hospital like Good Samaritan Hospital makes Vincennes even more attractive to possible investors. And it helps to keep long-standing, beloved businesses here as well.
“Good Sam provides do much more than health care,” he said. “They provide jobs and it gives legitimacy to our community. And they do it all while being engrained in the very fabric of our community.
“The hospital makes Knox County a regional destination, and it improves our community by improving the overall health of our workforce.”