HUD APPROVES $37.1 MILLION MORTGAGE TO RENOVATE AND EXPAND ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL IN MOUNT VERNON, OHIO

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan for Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The $37.1 million loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.

Knox Community Hospital is a not-for-profit healthcare provider operating a 115-bed acute care facility. Proceeds from the loan will be used forrenovation of operating rooms, expansion of the catheterization laboratory for diagnostic and interventional cardiac services, and implementation of a hospital-wide electronic health records system. Construction cost is $21.2 million. In addition, $15.9 million of 2004 revenue bonds will be refinanced.

"By helping to make projects like this possible, FHA is not only improving the community's health care, it is also contributing to the area's financial well-being by creating jobs and supporting local economies," said FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante.

HUD estimates that the Knox Community Hospital construction project will support approximately 328 full-time jobs and provide an economic boost of $61 million to the community. HUD's estimates are based on results from an economic model used by public and private institutions to examine a variety of economic development issues. Knox Community Hospital representatives estimate that, following construction completion, the hospital will support a full-time employment base of approximately 730 jobs.

By insuring the mortgage loan, FHA is enabling the hospital to obtain lower cost financing that will save an estimated$8.5 million in interest costs over the life of the loan. Since 1968, FHA has insured 401 mortgage loans totaling $17.4 billion to hospitals in 43 states and Puerto Rico.

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. Eligible applicants can be public, proprietary, or nonprofit hospitals certified by the responsible State agency.

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