Morgantown, W.Va.-based West Virginia University Health System is expanding its footprint while carefully managing its finances, and rating agencies are paying close attention, according to The State Journal.
Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investor Service, two of the three major credit rating agencies in the world, recently assigned the health system strong bond ratings, according to the report.
S&P assigned its "A" long-term rating to WVU Medicine's $262.3 million Series 2023A bonds while Moody's assigned an "A2" designation to the system's proposed 2023 hospital revenue improvement bonds Series A, which will be issued at a fixed-rate for about $285 million.
"We're in an interesting situation because the entire healthcare industry has been financially challenged over the last few years with all of the COVID shutdowns and temporary labor [issues]," WVU Medicine President and CEO Albert Wright told the publication. "We … have been able to weather that storm and stay profitable. We're taking care of more patients than ever."
The health system has several expansion projects in the works and recently added Charleston, W.Va.-based Thomas Health.
In July, Nicholas Barcellona will become senior vice president of finance and CFO of WVU Medicine. He currently serves as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of Temple University Health System in Philadelphia.