Money Talk

RSS

Are you a health leader?
Qualify for a free subscription to HealthLeaders magazine.

Who’s up and who’s down

Up
Kings Daughters Medical Center; Ashland, Ky.
Rating: A+
Outlook: Stable
Affected debt: $40 million
Agency: Standard & Poor’s
Remarks: Incremental volume growth due to physician recruitment and additional capacity. Increasing primary market share. Large capital infrastructure investments coming online in late 2007.

Down
Marquette General Hospital; Marquette, Mich.
Rating: Baa1
Outlook: Negative
Affected debt: $37 million
Agency: Moody’s Investors Service
Remarks: Outlook revised to negative from stable because of concerns that weak fiscal 2006 operating performance will be repeated. Surgical volumes are declining, though hospital has dominant position as the only tertiary provider in its area.

Up
Chesapeake General Hospital; Chesapeake, Va.
Rating: A3
Outlook: Stable
Affected debt: $36.8 million
Agency: Moody’s Investors Service
Remarks: Significant improvement in financial performance between 2005 and 2006, with no new debt planned for three years. Challenged by strong competition from market share leader, Sentara Healthcare.

Up
DCH Health System; Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Rating: A+
Outlook: Stable
Affected debt: $30 million
Agency: Standard & Poor’s
Remarks: Excellent business position with 90 percent of the market share in Tuscaloosa County. Some softness in fiscal 2006 financial results compared with the same period of 2005.

—Philip Betbeze