A $210-million bond issue will help pay for a five-story addition and service upgrades.
By BILL VARIAN
Published April 3, 2003
TAMPA - In a measure of a stunning financial turnaround, the company that runs Tampa General Hospital is preparing to build a five-story, $98-million addition to TGH's campus on Davis Islands.
Hillsborough commissioners on Wednesday signed off on a $210-million bond issue for the hospital's governing body, Florida Health Sciences Centers Inc., for the construction and to pay off old debt.
The bonds will be sold through the county's Industrial Development Authority, which provides discounted rates for nonprofits and other companies.
The addition will allow Tampa General to expand and update its trauma and critical care departments along with its vascular and women's care centers. It will triple the size of the hospital's emergency trauma center.
The vote by commissioners comes on the heels of Tampa General learning that its bond rating from Fitch Ratings has been upgraded. Moody's Investors Service is expected to make a similar announcement in the coming days.
"That definitely makes a difference," said Ron Hytoff, chief executive officer for the hospital.
Only three years ago, Tampa General reported an annual loss of $7-million. Beds were empty. Providing required health care for the poor and sick was draining money from the hospital, and out of the county commission's budget.
In recent years, the hospital board has considered selling the hospital to a national chain. Its board members were even talking of leaving the current location because it was too costly to operate and was losing the competition battle with other hospitals, and moving near the University of South Florida.
Last year, Tampa General reported a profit of $56.2-million.
"The information that was presented to the commission shows that there has been a dramatic turnound at Tampa General in the last two or three years," said Tom Morrison, general counsel to the Industrial Development Authority. "I mean dramatic."
Additionally, the hospital carries relatively low debt. For every dollar of debt it owes, it holds $5.40 in cash. The Industrial Development Authority typically sells bonds for outfits with much lower cash to debt ratios, as low as $1.50 in cash for every dollar in debt.
Its relatively low debt level and steady profits in part explains the two-step upgrade Tampa General received from Fitch, to BBB-plus.
"Our review of the finances and the bond issue itself didn't turn up really any criticisms at all," said Mike Merrill, the county's debt management director, whose office reviews the fiscal soundness of bond issues for the Industrial Development Authority. "It really was an unqualified recommendation."
The addition will be connected at all levels to the western pavilion of the hospital. It will expand the hospital's ability to do less-invasive treatments in cardiac care. Neonatal care also will be expanded.
Eight operating rooms already have been added and part of the bond issue will pay off the hospital's expenditures on them. The hospital will add another 54 beds for inpatient care. It is also building in "shell" space for future expansions.
The new wing will be built on stilts with parking underneath. That area will be designed for use in emergency triage if the hospital must respond to a large-scale disaster.
Hospital officials hope to break ground by the end of the year.
[Last modified April 3, 2003, 02:44:42]
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