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Health care is one of the largest industries in rural Arizona, and hospital leaders are using the economic impact of hospitals and medical facilities to create job opportunities and establish lasting community connections in rural areas.

鈥淗ealth care is one of those things that not only directly creates jobs and directly drives economic impact, but does it indirectly as well,鈥� said Greg Taylor, regional vice president of community affairs at , an integrated Medicaid health plan. Taylor introduced a panel about healthcare as an economic driver at the Rural Development Forum hosted by Local First Arizona in Wickenburg on August 9, 2018.

Neal Jensen, CEO of (CVRMC), spoke at the forum to advocate for community-based health solutions in rural towns. CVRMC is one of Globe-Miami鈥檚 largest employers, and Jensen estimated that CVRMC鈥檚 economic impact in Arizona is now close to $100 million.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as a healthy community without a healthy hospital,鈥� Jensen said. 鈥淩ural health care matters鈥� you鈥檇 have to see, having worked in these small communities, what happens to health care and how it gets delivered changes significantly. But we provide access to critical services.鈥�

Jensen requires 70 percent of hospital staff and 100 percent of physicians and administrators to be residents of the communities they serve. Jensen said he spends a lot of time trying to recruit doctors and other medical professionals to fill high-dollar jobs in Globe, and property ownership is key to creating a thriving community.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 no one there recruiting doctors, there won鈥檛 be doctors in your community,鈥� Jensen said. One of the biggest challenges is getting professionals interested in living in a small town. 鈥淧eople want the basics. They want clean streets, they want sidewalks, they want parks, they want good schools.鈥�

Many people want amenities that may not be available in rural areas, such as shopping, theaters and high-speed internet. Diversity in housing, such as apartments and subdivisions, are also on the list.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 very hard in rural communities,鈥� Jensen said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an industry shortage of physicians, and we鈥檙e living it. But not only that; there are only three percent of doctors that go to rural communities, and of that three percent, when you want to pull them to a blue-collar rural community, it鈥檚 even a much smaller subset.鈥�

So what is the solution? According to Jensen, it鈥檚 about creating meaningful relationships between the hospital, government, local businesses and residents of rural towns. CVRMC has partnered with the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Globe Rotary Club, among others, to get hospital administrators involved in community business leadership. The hospital even co-signs construction loans for new housing developments in the area.

鈥淲e participate in all fashions in our community to make sure the community knows who we are, why we鈥檙e there and why we鈥檙e important to them,鈥� Jensen said. Partnerships are the future of rural hospitals, he said. 鈥淚 like the road less traveled. We don鈥檛 go down the easy road, we go down the tough road and push change all the time. Every decision is a strategic decision.鈥�

It is extremely important to consider long-term impact when deciding where to spend money and how to direct resources, Jensen said. Recent developments for CVRMC include a 67,000 square foot expansion to the Globe campus and a new 5,000 square foot clinic in Superior, where the success of a new facility depends on community involvement.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do it alone; you need partners,鈥� Jensen said. 鈥淪et high expectations; no one rises to low expectations.鈥�