"Significantly elevated" operating losses at Burlington, Mass.-based Tufts Medicine have resulted in the system having credit ratings downgraded two notches to "BBB-" from "BBB+," S&P Global said Sept. 14.
The downgrades apply to various sets of bonds. The system was removed from CreditWatch negative where it was placed Aug. 3, while the outlook remains negative.
"The negative outlook incorporates the possibility that management's turnaround efforts could be insufficient to offset various industry pressures resulting in a continued trend of heightened operating losses and limited balance sheet recovery," the S&P note said.
Tufts Medicine employs more than 13,000 people and has a total of 1,116 licensed beds, according to its website.