Local Health Industry Added 10,000 Jobs Over The Last Decade
Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Felicia Alvarez
Photo: The busy UC Davis Medical Center has contributed to UC Davis Health’s notable growth over the last decade. (DENNIS MCCOY | SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL)
Sacramento’s health care industry strengthened its foothold over the last decade, with just a handful of employers adding thousands of jobs.
The region’s four largest health systems — UC Davis Health, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Dignity Health — have added 10,176 jobs since 2010, according to Sacramento’s most recent comprehensive annual financial report, which was published Dec. 27. The report only reflects employment figures for residents of the city of Sacramento.
Health care saw the fastest growth among Sacramento’s largest employers.
In recent years UC Davis Health rose to the spot of second-largest employer in the city of Sacramento, as employment numbers shrank for staffers employed by Sacramento County.
UC Davis Health has added 4,178 employees since June 2010, growing 49% in the city of Sacramento, a review of past annual financial reports shows.
Much of that growth was driven by a surge in research funding.
“A lot of people don’t realize how prominent UC Davis has become in terms of federally funded research,” said Dr. David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health. “That translates directly to new hires and lab personnel.”
Grants from the National Institutes of Health, for example, have risen from $41 million in 2001 to $176.2 million in 2017, according to the university. The last decade also saw the university start up the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, and achieve new national rankings for 15 medical specialties, spokesman Steve Telliano said.
In general, UC Davis Medical Center continues to be “filled to overflowing every single day,” Lubarsky said.
He is looking to expand the medical center’s focus on public service.
Its pace of growth is poised to continue, at least for the near future. UC Davis Health has about 500 full-time positions that are currently vacant, Lubarsky said.
“I see that growth continuing 5% to 10% over the next two years,” he said. “We’re not growing for growth’s sake. We are growing to fill a need. We don’t think anyone should have to go down to Stanford to get the care they need.”
Kaiser Permanente saw the second-fastest growth among the city’s largest employers, with about 3,425 jobs added for Sacramento residents for growth of 42% since 2010. The Oakland-based health system is now the city’s third-largest employer, and the largest employer in the county.
Kaiser attributes a portion of that growth to the Affordable Care Act, which expanded the number of Sacramento residents with health insurance, said Trish Rodriguez, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente in South Sacramento.
She also attributed the growth to Kaiser’s overall brand and model of integrated care.
“The value proposition we create has helped spur that growth. We really invested in improving our quality,” Rodriguez said.
Sutter Health grew 20%, adding 1,495 jobs since 2010, and Dignity Health grew 18% and added roughly 1,078 jobs.
The full list of largest employers for 2019, according to the financial report, includes:
The state of California, 76,131 employees
UC Davis Health, 12,674 employees
Kaiser Permanente, 11,404 employees
Sacramento County, 11,330 employees
U.S. government, 10,227 employees
Sutter Health, 8,809 employees
Dignity Health, 7,000 employees
Elk Grove Unified School District, 6,381 employees
Intel Inc., 6,200 employees
San Juan Unified School District, 5,289 employees
Apple Inc., 5,000 employees