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Healthcare Execs Examine
State of Local Medical Care

he healthcare industry’s impact on the greater
Lansing region can’t be overstated. While their
mission is to keep residents healthy, local healthcare
institutions also affect the region’s economic vitality
T by providing an array of good-paying jobs, new
construction projects, and hands-on experience for higher
education students.

Healthcare remains Michigan’s largest employer of direct,
private-sector jobs, according to data from the Okemos-based
Michigan Health & Hospital Association. More than a million jobs
in Michigan are directly or indirectly created by the healthcare
By Jennifer McEntee
industry. Put another way, 18 of every 100 jobs in Michigan were
healthcare-related in 2022.

Brian Peters, chief executive officer of the Michigan Health
& Hospital Association, said the Lansing region’s healthcare
institutions tend to be on state lawmakers’ radar because of their
close proximity to the Michigan State Capitol.

“Any time there is a legislative issue that deals with healthcare and
hospitals, that’s where lawmakers can most easily come to see
things firsthand,” Peters said. “So probably more than any other
hospitals in the state, they’re going to have that opportunity to
showcase the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of the issues
that we’re confronting in healthcare.”

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