Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the "A1" long-term bond rating assigned to Albany, Ga.-based Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital's $106.2 million of outstanding certificates.
Here are six things to know about the rating and the hospital's outlook.
1. Moody's analysis incorporates the financial performance of the entire Albany-based Phoebe Putney Health System.
2. The rating affirmation was supported by a number of factors, including Phoebe Putney Health System's position as an integrated system with a distinctly leading market share in a broad five-county primary service area. The rating was also supported by the system's improved liquidity position and manageable capital plans in future years, according to Moody's.
3. The system also faces challenges, such as experiencing below average financial performance over the past three years as the system incurred costs from the protracted legal issue in regard to the system's acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Albany, now known as Phoebe North.
4. The system is also challenged to return financial performance to a level appropriate for the "A1" rating category, fully merge and integrate Phoebe North, grow volumes and maintain balance sheet ratios, according to Moody's.
5. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital's outlook is stable, which Moody's said "reflects the recent resolution of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) settlement and dismissal of the injunction which prevented integration."
6. Moody's expects operating margins to return to a level that is adequate for the "A1" rating category.
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