Fitch downgrades El Paso County Hospital District's bonds to 'AA-'

Fitch Ratings has downgraded bonds issued to El Paso County Hospital District in Texas to "AA-" and revised the hospital district's outlook to negative from stable.

El Paso County Hospital District covers 1,058 square miles and operates University Medical Center — the only public hospital located in its primary service area. UMC is a 394-bed acute care facility that serves as the primary teaching hospital for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso.

The downgrade reflects a decline in UMC's margins and liquidity, which is mostly attributable to the El Paso Children's Hospital's inability to make expected payments under various agreements to UMC

The negative outlook indicates concern over El Paso Children's Hospital's distressed credit profile on the El Paso County Hospital District.

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