The Mesa County Economic Update has shown an interesting trend: while unemployment is on the rise overall, the healthcare sector is booming. In fact, it welcomed over 300 new workers recently.
According to Colorado Mesa University Economics Professor Nathan Perry, this growth is largely due to higher pay and incentives in healthcare. As wage increases in other industries slow down, healthcare continues to ramp up compensation to attract and retain employees.
Chris Thomas, the President and CEO of Community Hospital, explained that the persistent struggle to fill positions has pushed healthcare providers to offer better salaries. “Western Colorado has its perks; it’s a great place to live, which helps with recruitment,” he said. “We’re also focusing on wages and work-life balance.”
From August 2023 to August 2024, healthcare wages increased by over $15.5 million, representing a significant 7.5% rise in earnings for healthcare staff. Perry noted that healthcare is currently the largest employer in the county, with around 13,451 employees, which naturally drives up total wages.
Amy Jordan, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Community Hospital, shared how this increase has positively affected their team. The average staff salary rose from about $80,000 in 2022 to nearly $95,000 now. “We’ve made substantial improvements,” she said. “We’re also enhancing benefits to help with recruitment and retention.”
Some of the benefits they offer include temporary housing for new staff, discounted childcare, customizable insurance plans, and unique scheduling options that allow staff to earn full-time pay while working fewer hours.
The local Department of Veteran Affairs, however, operates under different constraints and reports an average salary of $125,000 for clinical staff, along with an additional 35% in benefits. “Higher wages not only improve financial stability for workers, but they also ensure better care for patients by attracting skilled professionals,” said Mathew Tekansik from the VA.
Despite fierce competition for professionals, both Thomas and Jordan believe that hiring from out-of-state can benefit the entire community.
Thanks to these efforts, Mesa County’s healthcare industry has largely recovered from staffing shortages, which means better and faster care for patients. Yet, Perry warns that rising wages might lead to higher healthcare costs in the future. “These wage increases will likely add pressure on prices,” he said, drawing parallels to how rising oil prices affect driving costs.
Thomas reassured that Community Hospital is actively working to manage these costs. “We can’t keep raising wages forever,” he said, highlighting that reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid aren’t keeping pace with increasing service costs.
Overall, the healthcare field is a major player in Mesa County’s economy, with several hospitals among the top employers.
Here are the top employers in Mesa County:
- Mesa County Valley School District — 3,648
- Intermountain Health St. Mary’s — 2,732
- Colorado Mesa University — 1,461
- Community Hospital — 1,400
- Mesa County — 1,224
- VA Medical Center — 978
- City of Grand Junction — 860
- Family Health West — 596
- Hilltop — 530
- West Star Aviation — 537
- Hopewest — 430
- Powderhorn Mountain Resort — 401
- Alpine Bank — 306
- Primary Care Partners — 295
- Mind Springs Health — 276
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employment, medicare (united states), hospital, salary, health care prices in the united states, health, economy, economics, business, price, health care, wage, inflation
