CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 9, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- BayCare Health System maintained its impressive
credit ratings this week in new rating agencies' reports, just five
weeks after the organization underwent a corporate restructuring.
BayCare maintained an AA rating with Fitch and an AA2 with
Moody's.
"BayCare has a long history of good financial stewardship. I'm
proud to say, even as we embark on significant investments to
ensure we continue to serve our communities' health, we do so on
sound financial footing," said Stephanie
Conners, BayCare's president and CEO. "BayCare is planning
to remain West Central Florida's provider of choice for decades to
come."
The ratings report came on the heels of BayCare's request last
week before the Hillsborough Industrial Development Authority for a
new tax-exempt bond. The request, unanimously approved by the
authority, would finance capital investments and renovations across
BayCare's primary footprint of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.
The ratings also came five weeks after June 30, when BayCare moved to a new corporate
legal structure. Now, BayCare hospitals and health care facilities
are fully and legally part of BayCare. The new structure replaced
the 50-year Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between several local
hospitals that created BayCare in 1997. It ensured that BayCare,
one of the region's largest private employers, will remain strong,
providing health care access and quality jobs for the region
indefinitely.
"Our board and leadership felt strongly that to ensure BayCare
remains the best place to work, receive and provide care, we needed
to modernize our structure for the future," Conners said.
Eliminating the 2047 termination date of the JOA was cited as a
positive in the Fitch rating.
"Fitch views the dissolution of the JOA and the new parent
corporate structure as a credit positive. A high level of
uncertainty has been removed from BayCare's long-term credit risk
profile…BayCare's corporate and governance structure is now secure
and stable for the long term," the Fitch report said.
"BayCare, as a not-for-profit health system, exists to serve our
community," said BayCare Chief Financial Officer Janice Polo. "To have the endorsement of our
ratings agencies that BayCare continues to be on the right
financial path should give our entire region as well as our team
members and physicians confidence that we will continue to be here
providing high-quality, compassionate care."
About BayCare
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit
health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide
range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient
locations throughout the Tampa Bay
and central Florida regions. The
system is West Central Florida's largest provider of behavioral
health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare
Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare's
diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories,
imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness
centers and one of Florida's
largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. BayCare's mission is
to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned,
health care services that set the standard for high-quality,
compassionate care. For more information visit BayCare.org.
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SOURCE BayCare Health System