Fitch Ratings assigned its "BB+" issuer default rating to Marshall, Mo.-based John Fitzgibbon Memorial Hospital.
Concurrently, Fitch placed the issuer rating and the hospital's refinancing bonds on rating watch negative.
The assignment and rating watch negative placement are a result of the hospital's delayed overhaul of its electronic accounting and EMR system, which has caused audit difficulty. In addition, Fitch acknowledged the hospital's weak financials according to the limited data presented.
Fitch expects to resolve the rating watch negative in the next six months, after the hospital has more available data.