Savannah Chamber

33 Health Services The regional health care sector continues to be a stalwart of economic consistency and growth since 2007. This sector is resistant to cyclical downturns and experienced fewer job losses during both the pandemic recession and the Great Recession (2007-09). As of November 2022, the sector bounced back to exceed its pre-pandemic employment level by 1.3%. Health services employs approximately 26,700 workers in the seven-county combined statistical area centered on Savannah. As a regional healthcare delivery center, the health sector continues to be a vital component of the area's economy and growth prospects are good in the short and long run. The two nationally recognized medical centers in Savannah, St. Joseph's/Candler and Hospital Corporation of America's (HCA) Memorial University Medical Center serve the healthcare needs of people from across Georgia's southeastern region. St. Joseph's/Candler health care system continues to expand its portfolio of medical facilities in the region. In Bryan County, SJ/C plans to build a $40 million medical facility in Bryan County very close to the planned Hyundai electric vehicle plant. Also in Bryan County, the development of a $15 million Richmond Hill campus is set to break ground in January of 2023. The campus is one component of a health and wellness initiative from the partnership of SJ/C and Raydient, a real estate developer responsible for the Heartwood development in Bryan County. In the first stage of the project, a 15,000 square foot primary care and urgent facility is expected to open in February 2024. Over the next 10-20 years, an additional five buildings and a total of 225,000 square feet are planned to open on the Richmond Hill campus. SJ/C is increasing its cancer care portfolio with medical oncology expanded to East Coast Regional, introducing the only oncology infusion practice in Bulloch County. This joins recently opened cancer care facilities in Pembroke and Hinesville in Liberty County. Memorial University Medical Center is a notable provider of healthcare in the southeast region of Georgia with a 655-bed academic hospital serving 35 counties in the coastal Georgia and South Carolina area. In 2022, the medical center was designated as a Level I Emergency Cardiac Care Center, the first in southeast Georgia to receive the designation. Memorial is also the region's only Level I trauma center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Level III neonatal intensive care center. Military Fort Stewart along with Hunter Army Airfield serves as the Army's premier power projection platform on the East Coast. The 3 rd Infantry Division's war-fighting capability is being upgraded in a plan that will provide the division with the most modern and most lethal ground and rotary wing combat equipment available in the world. Throughout 2022, The 2nd Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division was utilized by the U.S Army's Joint Modernization Command to test future battlefield technology and new strategies for long term and large-scale operations. They became the first brigade to complete modernization, and by summer 2023, the 3rd ID will be the most modernized division in the U.S Army. Additionally, the 3rd ID trained alongside the California National Guard at the end of 2022 in order to build proficiency to conduct multi-domain and large-scale combat operations. In March 2022, 3,800 troops from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd ID were deployed to Germany to train alongside NATO allies following the Ukraine invasion. An additional 130 troops of the 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, who provide maintenance and support services, were deployed shortly thereafter. After a six-month deployment, all troops of the 1st Armored Brigade returned in August. Additionally, the 3rd ID Sustainment Brigade returned from a nine-month deployment to Kuwait, where they supported logistical operations for the U.S Central Command area of operations. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade's rotational deployment is scheduled for Spring 2023, where they will be deployed to Europe as a part of the Atlantic Resolve Mission. The Department of Defense, with Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, is the largest employer in Coastal Georgia. In 2022, there were approximately 25,000 military personnel and civilian defense workers at both

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