Eight acute-care hospitals and health systems received a credit downgrade between Oct. 15 and Nov. 14, according to a report by HFA Partners.
The hospitals and health systems receiving credit downgrades included:
• Citrus Memorial Hospital (Inverness, Fla.) — from B to B- (Fitch)
• Columbus (Ga.) Regional Healthcare System — from A- to BBB (Fitch)
• Edward Hospital & Health Services (Naperville, Ill.) — from A+ to A (S&P)
• Good Shepherd Medical Center (Longview, Texas) — from Baa2 to Baa3 (Moody's)
• Meriter Hospital (Madison, Wis.) — from A+ to A (S&P)
• Munroe Regional Health System (Ocala, Fla.) — from A- to BBB+ (Fitch)
• Orlando (Fla.) Health — from A2 to A3 (Moody's)
• Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center — from A2 to A3 (Moody's)
Many downgraded institutions, like Edward and Munroe Regional, received downgrades due to pending transactions. Citrus Memorial, Meriter and King's Daughters Medical Center have all been hit with credit downgrades earlier this year. King's Daughters Medical Center, in particular, is dealing with allegations of unnecessary stents.
Five acute-care hospitals and health systems garnered a credit upgrade in the past month:
• Legacy Health (Portland, Ore.) — from A2 to A1 (Moody's)
• UnityPoint Health-Methodist (Peoria, Ill.) — from A2 to Aa3 (Moody's)
• Proctor Hospital (Peoria, Ill.) — from B2 to Aa3 (Moody's)
• Sky Lakes Medical Center (Klamath Falls, Ore.) — from BBB to BBB+ (Fitch)
• Upper Chesapeake Health (Bel Air, Md.) — from BB+ to BBB+ (Fitch)
UnityPoint and Proctor Hospital are in the late stages of a merger. Meanwhile, on Oct. 31, the upgraded Legacy Health hired Linda Hoff as its new CFO. Ms. Hoff previously was CFO of Meriter.
Eight hospitals and health systems also had positive outlook changes, while 14 hospitals and health systems had negative outlook changes.
Update: Previously, we reported that King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Ky., received a credit downgrade from Moody's in the past month. This was incorrect. King's Daughters' Health in Madison, Ind., received a positive outlook change from Moody's. Neither hospital received a downgrade.
Related Articles on Hospital Credit Ratings:
Wake Forest Baptist CFO Says Troubled Epic Implementation Led to Lower Credit Rating
Moody's: Hospital Downgrades Have Surpassed Upgrades Every Quarter This Year
S&P: Financial Profiles of Lower-Rated, Small Hospitals Will Weaken