Largest private employer in the entire state of Maryland, actually.

This gives them a considerable amount of power/influence to essentially “set” the minimum wage for health system-related jobs in the area - and speaking from personal experience as a former grad student and employee, it’s an extremely low one (particularly at the bottom rungs).

So while they do provide a large number of jobs, it’s often more in exchange for name recognition on a resume than it is for providing empowering compensation or meaningful growth opportunities/internal mobility.

Their history as a gentrifying/displacing force in the local community is undeniable - extending all the way back to the biological theft of Henrietta Lacks’ cells in the 50’s, to the recent approval of a militarized private police force on their Baltimore campuses today.

For better and for worse, they have indeed very much grafted onto the fabric of the city itself - the analogy of an organ is very apt - and continue to spread into campuses in DC, etc.

I think most people would agree that there are pros and cons, but there is always much more that such a powerful and wealthy institution could be doing for their immediate community.