Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term rating three notches to AA from A on West Shore Area Authority, Pa.'s series 2011 revenue bonds issued on behalf of Holy Spirit Hospital.
"The upgrade reflects that the bonds are now secured by a note under Geisinger Health System's master trust indenture," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst. Liz Sweeney
Holy Spirit Hospital is part of Holy Spirit Health System (HSHS), which became a formal affiliate of Geisinger Health System Foundation (Geisinger) on Oct. 1, 2014. Geisinger became the sole corporate member of HSHS on that date.
Geisinger had issued a consent solicitation to holders of Holy Spirit Hospital's series 2011 and 2011B bonds, requesting approval for, among other things, the substitution of Geisinger's master trust indenture (MTI) for the Holy Spirit MTI.
The solicitation was successful for the series 2011 bonds and the MTI substitution occurred on Dec. 19, 2014. The solicitation for the series 2011B has been extended to Jan. 29, 2015. At this time, the series 2011B bonds continue to be secured by the Holy Spirit MTI and the rating on the series 2011B is not affected at this time.
Should the 2011B solicitation be successful and the indenture substitution be completed, the rating agency intends to upgrade those bonds to reflect the AA debt rating on GHS at that time.
The stable outlook on the series 2011 bonds mirrors the rating outlook on Geisinger.
