Baptist Health Care Earns Rating Agency’s Confidence Receives Upgrade
Nationally-recognized rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded Baptist Health Care (Baptist) to an A rating from its previous BBB+ status. This upgrade comes less than a year after Moodys Investor Services also upgraded Baptist to an A rating status. Fitch granted the rating following an in-depth review of both current system operations and future state plans for Baptist, which serves as the areas only locally owned, not-for-profit health care provider.
Recognition as an A-level credit by both Fitch and Moodys is a significant accomplishment in health care, especially at a time of intense health reform activity including changes to insurance coverage and reimbursement cuts. Receiving an upgrade in this climate is contrary to the current industry trend in which bond credit rating downgrades are the norm for hospitals, especially in the State of Florida.
Like other providers in Florida, Baptist faces challenges related to monumental changes in the health care landscape. In spite of these challenges, Baptist continues to maintain consistent operational and financial performance, while remaining focused on high quality patient care and service.
Through its intensive review process, Fitch recognized the ability of Baptist to define and execute on strategies over multiple years with measurable results, including shifts in market share related to key services such as cardiology, orthopaedics and neurosurgery. Additionally, the organization has been able to reduce costs and streamline operations system-wide to prepare it for the future state.
We are so pleased to receive this news, especially on the heels of receiving an upgrade from Moodys last year. Very few health systems in Florida can make such a claim. We continue to credit our progress to a sustained culture and leadership team, as well as dedicated team members, board members, and community-minded physicians, said Mark Faulkner, BHC president and CEO. We will continue to execute with a defined roadmap for success with the aim to only improve Baptist for the communities we serve, and most importantly, our patients.
An A rating from Fitch indicates that Baptist is a low credit risk and worthy of superior rates to support ongoing financing needs. This will support BHC in its efforts to further invest in technology, services, and new markets to improve quality and access to care in the region.
For more information about this press release or to schedule an interview, please contact Carmela Cook at:
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