From the research hospital to a small arsenal of medical device and drug companies, Ann Arbor's health care sector will be the driver of the local economy in the future, a panel of local health care business leaders said at an event today.

It's an economic story they say isn't being told enough in light of poor economic news from the automotive sector in recent years.

"The footprint we have in southeast Michigan of higher performing hospitals and very innovative small companies building high-tech health care products for the future is huge. The problem is getting the message out," Jean Chenoweth of Thomson-Reuters in Ann Arbor said following the event.

Called the The Business of Health Care in Washtenaw County, the panel was hosted in Ann Arbor by United Bank & Trust, Hylant Group and Leaders Connect. Several local health care industry leaders - including University of Michigan hospital and health center chief executive officer Doug Strong and Esperion CEO Roger Newton - were featured at the health care business event.

Other speakers included Chenoweth and Doug Schneider of Thomson-Reuters, Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Inc. President and CEO Mark Sutter and local health device inventor Dick Sarns.

High profile deals like the aquisition of Ann Arbor's HealthMedia Inc. by Johnson & Johnson and U-M's purchase of the former Pfizer Inc. property in Ann Arbor help highlight the local talent and health care infrastructure, the speakers said.

Newton was part of the team that helped develop Pfizer's cholesterol drug, Lipitor. Following Pfizer's departure from its Ann Arbor laboratories, Newton said he chose to stay in the area to rebuild Esperion because of local resources for life sciences businesses. In particular, he cited support from from economic development groups like Ann Arbor Spark and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

"Opportunities abounded here," Newton said. "But people kept asking me: 'Why are you sticking around?'"

The local health care industry has a big role to play in changing the way patients are cared for and turning the system into a more preventative system rather than a disease-driven system. With the aging baby boomer population, having a more cost-effective system and creating healthier residents will have a huge economic impact on the region, Strong said.

"It does not matter what happens in Washington, but really what the nation wants of all of us in my profession is true reform," Strong said. "Reform is going to happen no matter what, and the reform that's really requested by our communities is to improve quality and to improve efficiency."

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.