CA hospital seeks $887M bond to rebuild

A San Francisco hospital has taken a step closer to getting approval for its record-setting $887.4 million bond measure, the proceeds for which would be used to rebuild the facility to meet seismic requirements. The facility, San Francisco General Hospital, is a central part of the city's indigent care system, with 85 percent of its patients uninsured or publicly insured.

The existing hospital, which treats about 100,000 patients per year, must be replaced or closed as an acute-care center under state law. Hospital execs would like to create a new hospital, which would open in 2015.

The city is selling the debt to city taxpayers as a switchoff; it plans to pay off existing bond obligations during construction of the new facility, and the new bond debt would then take the place of the old.

To learn more about the hospital's plans:
- read this San Francisco Chronicle piece

Related Articles:
Sutter Health bonds delayed, union pleased
Case study: NJ hospital refinances bond debt
MA bond authorities make transactions easier