The report, titled "Cleveland Hospital Systems Expand Despite Weak Economy" measures the growth of the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals against the slow decline of population in Greater Cleveland.
Researchers say they're struck by the rapid expansion of health facilities, even as the regional population since 2005 has sagged.
Alwyn Cassil works with The National Institute for Health Care Reform; which surveys 12 metropolitan areas every few years... to chart how they grow and change.
She says Seattle, Boston, and Phoenix are areas that are growing and can support a growing health care field. Here, population is shrinking, to the point that some analysts see trouble ahead if the health care boom persists.
ALWYN CASSIL:
"The report points to concerns on the part of some of the people that we interviewed that Cleveland may be headed for overcapacity; and that raises concerns because if you overbuild, and expand beyond what a community needs, it will add unnecessary costs to your health care system."
The report sponsors don't analyze or suggest alternatives - and termed the opportunities for patients in region as "enviable" and "substantial".
Besides growth at both University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic, the report also singled out what it called "cutting edge" work at MetroHealth Medical Center, and listed it as being a very strong public health care safety net.... which many metropolitan areas no longer have.
