Moody's Investors Service downgraded Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health's rating to "Baa2" from "Baa1," affecting $350 million of debt.
The downgrade is a result of several factors, including the health system's declining patient volume, competitive service area, operating losses through the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 and higher leverage following expected debt for a capital project. Moody's also acknowledged the health systems strong market position and healthy liquidity metrics.
The outlook is negative; reflecting the challenges Summa Health must overcome in order to achieve operating margin improvement.