Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A1" rating on Little Rock-based Arkansas Children's outstanding revenue bonds, affecting $185 million of debt.
Arkansas Children's system includes Little Rock-based Arkansas Children's Hospital and Springdale-based Arkansas Children's Northwest, which will open in January 2018.
The affirmation is a result of several factors, including the health system's dominant market position, strong liquidity metrics and favorable leverage position. Moody's also acknowledged the health system's upcoming EMR installation, recent entrance into the Arkansas Shared Savings Entity and construction costs of the new Northwest hospital.
The outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectation that Arkansas Children's will maintain its healthy liquidity metrics through a softer operating performance in fiscal year 2018.