• The major institutional development partners engaged in the Fitzsimons redevelopment
  
• Information integrated into the IMPLAN model
  
• Economic productivity information from the U.S. Economic Censuses conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau
  
• Current state and local taxation practices and rates
  
• Other standards and norms drawn from prior studies or the general body of information relating to construction/development practices.
  

The major economic drivers for the results reported above were summarized in Section II. The remainder of this supplement presents additional details regarding assumptions which underlie those major drivers. The information is not presented in any particular order.

Development to employment conversion ratios
The following conversion factors were used to estimate the long-term employment associated with the projected development at Fitzsimons. In most cases, these ratios were used for the post-2010 time period, for which specific expansion plans of the major institutional partners are not yet well defined.

Total annual operating outlays
Total operating outlays are used in this analysis as the measure of economic output at the UCHSC, UCH and TCH. Those three institutions had total operating outlays, excluding capital construction, of nearly $800 million last year. At full-development, the combined annual operating outlays are expected to more than double to nearly $1.9 billion annually. Because health care and education are labor intensive, more than half of the total outlays will be for payments to labor (wages, salaries and benefits).


Health care patients
Information supplied by UCH and TCH indicated a combined total of 684,000 patient visits at their main facilities last year. More than 23,700 patients were admitted, subsequently receiving over 133,000 in-patient days of care. The remaining 551,000 patients were seen in the emergency rooms or on an outpatient basis.

Increasing demand associated with regional population growth is one factor driving the moves to Fitzsimons. By 2010, the combined number of patients seen at the two hospitals is projected to increase by 39 percent. However, advances in health care treatment and pressures by the government and health care insurers are expected to cut the average length of stay over time and increase the numbers of patients seen on an outpatient basis. Consequently, the number of in-patient days of care is expected to increase by about 30 percent, while the number of outpatients seen will increase by 41 percent—see the accompanying figure. Continued population growth in the metropolitan area beyond 2010 will spur continued long-term growth for health care. This growth will be a major factor in determining the timing of future expansions beyond 2010.

Non-resident patients and other retail spending
Exports of goods and services are important sources of economic vitality for any local economy, bringing new wealth into the economy and supporting a larger and more diverse economy. Traditionally, the term “exports” conjures up visions of manufactured goods such as automobiles and refrigerators. However, services provided to consumers and businesses located outside the local regional also are forms of exports. According to information provided by the University of Colorado Hospital and The Children’s Hospital, 68 percent of their patients live in the Aurora-Denver metropolitan area. Another 19 percent live elsewhere in Colorado and 13 percent of patients treated at those institutions do not live in Colorado. Thus, not only do these institutions “import” significant revenue into the regional economy, but also the benefits of having these two world-class medical centers extend to a multi-state region.

Estimated construction and development costs for the initial phases of the health care delivery, health care research and education facilities were provided by UCHSC, UCH and TCH. Those costs were the basis for the estimated post-2010 construction costs. On-site infrastructure development costs and construction costs for future development in the FRA Development area were provided by FRA.