HUD APPROVES $136.4 MILLION FINANCING PLAN FOR EXPANSION AND RENOVATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE HOSPITALS

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to LRGHealthcare in Laconia, New Hampshire. The not-for-profit corporation owns and operates Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, Franklin Regional Hospital in Franklin, and a medical office building in Meredith. The $136.4 million loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.

The project includes construction of a new patient tower on the Lakes Region General Hospital campus. The 96,510 square foot tower will include a 15-bed intensive care unit, a five-bed progressive care unit, a 20-bed eldercare unit, a new central energy plant and generator, and a new lobby. Franklin Regional Hospital will have its emergency department renovated and expanded, and the corporation's medical office building in Meredith will be expanded. The total cost of the project also includes $57.7 million to refinance existing debt.

"FHA is helping to build state-of-the-art health care facilities all across the country," said FHA Commissioner David Stevens. "By lowering the cost of credit, FHA will allow LRGHealthcare to use more of its resources to provide quality medical care to the surrounding communities."

By insuring the mortgage loan, FHA is enabling the hospital to obtain lower cost financing, saving an estimated $18.8 million in interest expense over the life of the loan. Since 2003, HUD has issued commitments to 21 different critical access hospitals all across the United States.

HUD estimates this construction project will support 536 full-time jobs and provide an estimated economic stimulus of $132.3 million to the community. Once completed, it is estimated the project will provide an annual economic benefit of approximately $73.4 million and support 451 jobs.

LRGHealthcare was established in July 2002 with the merger of Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Regional Hospital. Lakes Regional is a 137-bed designated Rural Referral Center and Sole Community Hospital and Franklin Regional is a 25-bed critical access hospital (CAH). Since the merger, the two facilities have operated in an integrated health care setting primarily serving 16 communities in central New Hampshire, approximately 90 miles north of Boston.

FHA's Section 242 Mortgage Insurance Program for Hospitals provides HUD-insured mortgages made by private lending institutions to finance construction or renovation of acute care hospitals including major equipment needed to operate the facility. The eligible applicants can be public, proprietary, or nonprofit hospitals certified by the responsible State agency.

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