Fitch Ratings: Texas Hospitals in the Path of Hurricane Rita.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- With Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005. expected to hit the coastal region of Texas early Saturday morning with category four winds, Fitch has contacted its rated hospitals and long-term care facilities long-term care facility n. See skilled nursing facility. located in the state. Only Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is an internationally recognized pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. With 639 licensed beds and 465 beds in operation, Texas Children's is the largest children's hospital in the United States. (revenue bonds rated 'AA' by Fitch) and Buckner Retirement Services (revenue bonds rated 'A-' by Fitch) are expected to be directly affected by the hurricane. The results are summarized below: --Texas Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties. and Affiliated Entities (located in Houston): According to management, the hospital is not accepting transfers from other facilities, but is providing care for its current patients. The hospital maintains a backup generator system and has adequate staff and pharmacy and medical supplies in place. In addition, Texas Children's has flood doors that will be activated once surrounding bayous reach seven inches. The hospital also maintains flood and wind insurance for any potential damages. Additional information is available on its website at 'www.texaschildrenshospital.org'. --Buckner Retirement Services (various locations throughout Texas): Buckner consists of five long-term care facilities located in Texas. Buckner has a CCRC Noun 1. CCRC - an agency in the Department of Defense that is a national center for research on all aspects of injury control and casualty care Casualty Care Research Center located in Houston and in Beaumont, which may be vulnerable to the hurricane. Due to a mandatory evacuation of Beaumont, patients at its nursing home have been transferred to other facilities in the state. Fitch has been unable to verify if Buckner maintains flood, wind, and/or business interruption insurance Noun 1. business interruption insurance - insurance that provides protection for the loss of profits and continuing fixed expenses resulting from a break in commercial activities due to the occurrence of a peril . In addition, Fitch has been in contact with the following credits located in Texas: The Army Retirement Residence Foundation (revenue bonds rated 'BBB' by Fitch) in San Antonio; Good Shepherd Health System, Inc. and Affiliates (revenue bonds rated 'BBB' by Fitch) in Longview; Shannon Health System (revenue bonds rated 'BBB' by Fitch) in San Angelo; Trinity-Mother Frances Health System (revenue bonds rated 'BBB+' by Fitch) in Tyler; and Wilson N. Jones Regional Health System (revenue bonds rated 'B+' by Fitch) in Sherman. Located far inland, these facilities are not expected to sustain structural damage from Hurricane Rita. However, these facilities may face significant increases in patient census as patients are transferred from areas in the direct path of the storm. Fitch will monitor the effects of the hurricane and provide additional commentary when more information is available. The outstanding debt for Texas Children's Hospital and Buckner Retirement Services is listed below. Fitch notes that approximately 63% of Texas Children's Hospital debt is insured by MBIA MBIA Montana Building Industry Association MBIA Municipal Bond Insurance Association MBIA Michigan Boating Industries Association MBIA Municipal Bond Investors Assurance MBIA Massachusetts Brain Injury Association MBIA Maryland Business Incubation Association Insurance Corp., whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch. None of Buckner Retirement Services' debt is insured. Texas Children's Hospital and Affiliated Entities has an underlying rating of 'AA' by Fitch: -- $113,575,000 Harris County Health Facilities Development Corporation hospital revenue bonds Hospital revenue bond A bond issued to finance construction of a hospital by a municipal or state agency. hospital revenue bond Tax-exempt debt issued by a city, county, state, or hospital authority with debt service guaranteed by hospital (Texas Children's Hospital Project), series 1999A; -- $169,700,000 Harris County Health Facilities Development Corporation hospital revenue bonds (Texas Children's Hospital Project), series 1999B-1 (insured by MBIA Insurance Corp.); -- $96,100,000 Harris County Health Facilities Development Corporation hospital revenue bonds (Texas Children's Hospital Project), series 1999B-2 (insured by MBIA Insurance Corp.). Buckner Retirement Services has an underlying rating of 'A-' by Fitch: -- $59,000,000 Bell County Health Facilities Development Corporation tax-exempt revenue bonds (Buckner Retirement Services, Inc.), series 1998 Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. 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 Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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