Cleveland Clinic adds $9 billion boost to economy, officials say

With the opening of a $500 million heart center and a $128 million medical tower, Cleveland Clinic officals are touting the system’s growing impact on the local and state economy (Source: “Cleveland Clinic's success continues to be a boon for region,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 7, 2008).

The Clinic’s annual payroll grew to $1.9 billion in 2006, and that does not include the $1.3 billion paid by other companies that do busy at the Clinic. The system is the region’s top employer, responsible for about 37,000 workers.

The continuing boom has Clinic officials touting Northeast Ohio as a growing healthcare hub. "Are we a Boston or Minneapolis or San Jose? No, but we are catching up," said Tom Sudow, director of business development for the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, led by the Clinic. "It took Boston 30 years. We're five or six years into it. We're making very good progress."