Healthcare industry

A group of Allegheny County, Pa., residents angered over the planned closing of Braddock Hospital are trying to stop a $1.17 billion University of Pittsburgh Medical Center refunding deal and anticipate filing suit against a state conduit agency if it moves ahead with the bond sale.

CHICAGO — With an upgrade in hand from Moody’s Investors Service, St. Cloud, Minn.-based CentraCare Health System today will price for institutional buyers nearly $200 million of fixed-rate refunding bonds.

This week’s largest financings include deals in the health care, transportation, and environmental sectors that are expected to price as part of an estimated $5.44 billion in volume, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

DALLAS — Woman’s Hospital Foundation of Baton Rouge, La., will revive a halted replacement project with the proceeds from next week’s negotiated sale of $244 million of hospital revenue bonds and $100 million of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds.

The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority today expects to issue $293 million of new-money and refunding bonds on behalf of Sentara Healthcare, the main health care provider for east Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

The expiration two years ago of the law allowing the 116 industrial development agencies in New York to sell bonds on behalf of nonprofits is changing the landscape for borrowers and issuers.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to negative and affirmed its BBB-minus rating on Friendship Village of Columbus, Ohio Inc., a continuing care retirement community facility.

CHICAGO — Ohio State University today will begin taking retail orders on a refunding issue that will range in size from $154 million to $274 million in order to eliminate some of the school’s variable-rate debt and achieve savings on its existing fixed-rate bonds.

Standard & Poor’s Tuesday upgraded the long-term and underlying ratings of the Scripps Health hospital system to AA-minus from A-plus.

CHICAGO — Cleveland-based MetroHealth System is expected to enter the market today with $75 million of taxable Build America Bonds and possibly another series of tax-exempt fixed-rate debt to finance capital projects.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to Baa2 from Baa1 $8.95 million of debt issued on behalf of Memorial Healthcare, located in Shiawessee County between Lansing and Flint.

Standard & Poor’s last month revised its outlook to stable from negative on Decatur Memorial Hospital’s A credit due to the restoration of profitability.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation’s rating to A-plus from A in recognition of its sustained operating profitability and positive volume trends.

Moody’s Investors Service last week upgraded to Aa3 from A1 debt issued on behalf of McLaren Health Care Corp., and revised the outlook to stable from positive.

CHICAGO — Redwood Capital Investments LLC’s successful bid Wednesday to acquire most of bankrupt Erickson Retirement Communities’ assets did not include the Monarch Landing, Sedgebrook, and Linden Ponds facilities so the fate of their municipal debt now becomes the focus of a new round of negotiations.

CHICAGO — Redwood Capital Investments LLC’s successful bid Wednesday to acquire most of bankrupt Erickson Retirement Communities’ assets did not include the Monarch Landing, Sedgebrook, and Linden Ponds facilities so the fate of their municipal debt now becomes the focus of a new round of negotiations.

The Skokie, Ill.-based health care advisory firm Kaufman Hall & Associates Inc. will close out a busy 2009 with two new partners after promoting its head of the mergers and acquisitions group, Kit Kamholz, to the senior status and earlier this year hiring former banker James Blake.

Standard & Poor's revised Newport Hospital's outlook to negative from stable last week, citing an unexpected increase in operating losses. The change affects $24.9 million of bonds issued in 1999 by the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp. on behalf of the hospital. Standard & Poor's rates the debt A.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston will open the new year by retiring $78 million of auction-rate securities almost two years after the market for that type of debt collapsed.

After staying out of a multi-state refinancing in March, the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority will refund early next year up to $150 million of Catholic Health East debt after the health care provider and the authority reached agreement on collateral postings for derivatives.