Fitch Ratings upgraded the debt outlook for Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center as the hospital group's new location shows solid operating performance in a high-growth area.
The ratings group upgraded the group's Issuer Default Rating to "BB+" from "BB," as it did with revenue bonds issued on behalf of LLUMC by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority. Fitch described the ratings outlook as "stable."
"The upgrade to 'BB+' incorporates LLUMC's major new hospital, which is now open, and the system has been operating in their new environment for more than one year, removing a considerable risk factor," Fitch said in the report. "As the only academic medical center (AMC) and only children's hospital serving a large population base in the Inland Empire, LLUMC is well positioned from a competitive perspective."
The new Dennis and Carol Troesh Medical Campus in Loma Linda houses 20 operating rooms, a maternity pavilion, the children's hospital, multiple private rooms and an education center, as well as being built according to state-of-the-art seismic standards.
The location was highlighted in the Harvard Business Review earlier this year for improving staff well-being with its design.