Fitch: Update on the Impact of Hurricane Wilma on Florida Facilities.

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has contacted the following Florida health care credits within its portfolio that were affected by Hurricane Wilma (Wilma).

Acute Care:

--BRCH Corp. and affiliates (400-bed acute-care hospital located in Boca Raton, FL): Fitch was able to contact management and they reported that power was restored to the hospital as of Thursday morning (10/27). During the storm, the hospital never closed and did sustain some minor damage; however, outpatient and elective surgeries have been cancelled until further notice. Fitch will continue to monitor this situation and will report on any further developments. Fitch rates the outstanding bonds listed below at 'A-'; Rating Outlook Stable:

--$98,475,000 Palm Beach County Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue and refunding bonds, series 2001 (BRCH Corporation obligated group) 'A-';

--$31,360,000 Palm Beach County Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue and refunding bonds, series 1999A (BRCH Corporation obligated group) 'A-';

--$19,175,000 BRCH Corporation taxable variable-rate demand bonds, series 1999, not rated.

--Health First, Inc. (three acute-care hospitals located in Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Palm Bay, as well as primary care clinics and several other entities): Management reported to Fitch that there was very limited damage to any of Health First's facilities and all locations have normal power. There were some minor staff constraints due to employees not being able to travel during Wilma, but the hospitals maintained normal operations during the storm and continue to do so. Fitch rates Health First's outstanding $23.9 million Cape Canaveral Hospital District, FL, revenue refunding certificates, series 1998 at 'A+'; Rating Outlook Stable;

---Miami Children's Hospital (252-bed children's hospital in Miami): The main campus and South Dade Center are fully operational while the Dan Marino Center and Miami Lakes Rehab Offices are closed. Management reported to Fitch that they incurred minimal structural damage to the facility and hospital power was restored within 24 hours. As of Wednesday, Oct. 26, the hospital was fully operational and performing elective surgeries. Fitch rates Miami Children's Hospital's outstanding $141 million Dade County Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue refunding bonds, series 2001 (Miami Children's Hospital Project) underlying rating at 'A-'; the Rating Outlook is Positive. The bonds are insured by Ambac Assurance Corp., whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch;

--Mount Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami, Inc. (two hospital 935 licensed bed acute care provider in Miami): According to management, Mount Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami (Sinai) did experience some wind damage and broken windows; however, none of this limited patient care or operations. At no time during the storm did the Sinai main campus lose power. The Miami Heart Institute did lose power and supported operations through back-up generators and is currently back on normal power. All of Sinai is currently fully operational. Once Sinai is able to quantify the total expense from the storm, Fitch will assess and comment on how it may affect profitability. Fitch rates the outstanding bonds listed below at 'BB+'; Rating Outlook Positive:

--$104 million City of Miami Beach Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue bonds, series 2004 (Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida);

--$82.2 million City of Miami Beach Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue bonds, series 2001A (Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida);

--$95.8 million City of Miami Beach Health Facilities Authority hospital revenue bonds, series 1998 (Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida);

--North Broward Hospital District (four-campus, 1,231 staffed bed provider located in Broward County, FL): Fitch contacted management and was told hospital facilities sustained no major damage, but they are without power or water. The North Broward Hospital district web site (www.browardhealth.org) is updated through Oct. 27 and reports that the hospitals are accepting emergency patients. Outpatient and elective surgeries are resuming at some locations and electrical power has been restored to some facilities while others remain on generator power. Fitch will continue to monitor and report on the situation. Fitch rates the outstanding bonds listed below at 'A-'; Rating Outlook Stable;

--$71.5 million North Broward Hospital District refunding revenue bonds, series 2005A, the bonds are insured by MBIA Insurance Corp, whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch;

--$176.4 million North Broward Hospital District revenue bonds, series 1997;

--$99.3 million North Broward Hospital District revenue bonds, series 2001;

--Parrish Medical Center (220 licensed bed hospital in Titusville, FL): Management reported to Fitch that there was no damage to their hospital and only minimal water intrusion and the hospital maintained operations throughout the storm. The only disruption of operations for the hospital was an outpatient diagnostic center that was closed Monday and Tuesday (10/24-10/25) but has since reopened and is fully operational. Fitch will continue to monitor and update the situation as information becomes available. Fitch rates the outstanding bonds listed below at 'A+'; Rating Outlook Stable;

--$32.2 million North Brevard County Hospital District auction-rate revenue bonds (Parrish Medical Center Project), series 2005. The 'A+' is an underlying rating. The series 2005 bonds are insured by CIFG, whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch;

--$56.2 million North Brevard County Hospital District Auction-Rate Revenue Bonds, series 2000. The 'A+' is an underlying rating. The 2000 bonds are insured by Ambac Assurance Corp., whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch.

Non-acute Care:

--Moorings, Inc. (Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) with 336 residential/independent living units, 43 assisted living units, and 106 nursing care beds, located in Naples, FL): The Moorings reports that normal operations have resumed with normal power. During Wilma the facility suffered some wind and water damage and was on generator power but suffered no injuries or interruptions of essential services. They are currently under a 'boil water' alert and estimate that vegetation clean-up will take approximately one week. A full and comprehensive summary of the current situation and historical updates during the storm can be found at the web site www.mooringspark.info/index. Fitch rates the Moorings outstanding $20 million Collier County Health Facilities Authority health facility revenue bonds (The Moorings, Incorporated), series 2000 bonds listed at 'A'; Rating Outlook Stable;

--ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, Inc. (Nationwide CCRC system with six campuses in Florida): ACTS reports no evacuations, no injuries and damage (downed trees, roof tiles, little to no water intrusion) primarily in the three Boca Raton communities of St. Andrews Estates North and South and Edgewater Pointe Estates, as well as at the Indian River communities in Vero Beach. All three communities in Boca Raton lost power, but as of as of Wednesday, Oct. 26, Edgewater was the only campus still awaiting power to be restored. Management is providing updated information on its web site (www.acts-retirement.org/home). Fitch rates the outstanding bonds listed below at 'A-'; Rating Outlook Stable;

--$4,500,000 Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority (State of Georgia) senior living facility variable-rate demand revenue bonds (Lanier Village Estates, Inc. Project) series 2003A (1);

--$38,500,000 Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority (State of Georgia) senior living facility variable-rate demand revenue bonds (Lanier Village Estates, Inc. Project) series 2003B (2) ('A-' underlying rating);

--$8,150,000 Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority (State of Georgia) senior living facility variable-rate demand revenue bonds (Lanier Village Estates, Inc. Project) series 2003C (3);

--$20,000,000 ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, Inc. taxable corporate obligation variable-rate demand revenue bonds series 2003A (1);

--$16,150,000 Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority (PA) retirement community variable-rate demand revenue bonds, series 2002 (2) ('A-' underlying rating);

--$32,500,000 Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority (GA) senior living facility variable-rate demand revenue bonds series 1999A (1);

--$14,000,000 Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority (GA) senior living facility revenue bonds, series 1999c final term bond;

--$70,000,000 Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority (PA) retirement community revenue bonds series 1998;

--$14,555,000 Palm Beach County Health Facilities Authority retirement community revenue bonds series 1998;

--$19,805,000 Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority (PA) retirement community revenue bonds series 1996A;

--$51,315,000 Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority (PA) retirement community revenue bonds series 1996B;

--$24,215,000 Palm Beach County Health Facilities Authority retirement community revenue bonds series 1996;

--$23,435,000 North Carolina Medical Care Commission retirement community variable-rate demand revenue bonds series 1996 (2) ('A-' underlying rating).

(1) This is an underlying rating. These bonds are backed by an irrevocable direct pay letter of credit from Bank of America, N.A., which is rated 'AA-' by Fitch.

(2) These bonds are insured by Radian Asset Assurance (rated 'AA' by Fitch) with a standby bond purchase agreement from LaSalle Bank National Association (rated 'AA-' by Fitch) as the liquidity facility.

(3) This is an underlying rating. These bonds are backed by an irrevocable direct pay letter of credit from Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c., New York Branch, which is rated 'AA-' by Fitch.

Overall, the effects of Wilma, although significant, were not as devastating to Fitch's rated health care credits as the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast and are more comparable of the effects of Hurricane Rita on Texas. Fitch does not feel that any of the above mentioned credits in Florida were significantly affected by Hurricane Wilma. Currently, operations for many of these institutions are strained due to staffing constraints, cancelled surgeries, and limited patient volume however; Fitch expects that any effects from Wilma, including power loss and storm damage, should not put negative pressure on most of the above ratings.

Fitch will continue to monitor the progress of these credits and will provide further updates as needed.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.