UAMS a $3.8 billion economic engine.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said it had an economic impact of $3.8 billion on the state's economy in fiscal 2003.

"We are proud of our role as one of the state's most important economic enterprises," said UAMS Chancellor J. Dodd Wilson.

In its fiscal year--July 1, 2002-June 30, 2003--UAMS said it spent $683.9 million on employee salaries, supplies and services, scholarships and grants, and construction.

Together with its affiliates, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, where UAMS College of Medicine physicians and faculty provide clinical care, perform research and teach, UAMS' total expenditures were about $1.27 billion.

"When we consider the overall economic impact of UAMS and its affiliates, using economists' customary multiplier of three to reflect "re-spending" throughout the economy, the annual figure is approximately $3.8 billion," Wilson said.

Only 12 percent of UAMS revenue comes from the state, the news release said. The rest comes from clinical income, research grants and contracts, fund-raising and auxiliary income, and tuition. In fiscal 2003, revenue from patient visits totaled $328.5 million.

With almost 9,000 employees, UAMS is one of the state's largest employers. Those employees paid an estimated $74 million in local and state taxes in fiscal 2003.

Patients came to UAMS from almost every state and several foreign countries in fiscal 2003, paying approximately $93 million for inpatient and outpatient care.

UAMS scientists received $104 million in grants and contracts for research and related activities in fiscal 2003.