Otto Kaiser Memorial scores $44 million in bonds to replace hospital
Columbus investment firm Lancaster Pollard underwrote the fixed-rate, tax-exempt bonds.
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The Kenedy, Texas-based Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital recently said it has secured $43.8 million in bonds to fund a new hospital that will replace its aging facility.
Columbus investment firm Lancaster Pollard underwrote the fixed-rate, tax-exempt bonds, led by the firm’s vice president, Scott Blount.
“Health care delivery and technology has changed significantly since the hospital was built in 1974,” Blount said in a statement. “Both Hospital leadership and the community recognized the need for a replacement hospital and addition of a wellness center to provide modern healthcare delivery and support the growth of Karnes County. The new facility will also bolster the hospital’s ability to attract new physicians for expanded and improved quality of services.”
The critical access hospital currently features 25 beds, but the new, two-story facility will house inpatient and outpatient surgery departments, a Level IV trauma center, physical therapy, an imaging department, post-anesthesia and secondary recovery, an endoscopy suite and central sterile supply on the ground level. Meanwhile, the second floor will feature 25 private rooms.
According to Lancaster Pollard, the publicly financed bonds were a better option than seeking out Federal Housing Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture loans. The federal funding would have slowed the project during the approvals wait, and could have included mandates to reduce the scope of the project.
The investment firm also helped Otto Kaiser get a credit rating from Fitch Ratings, making it one of only eight critical-access hospitals to score and investment-grade rating, the firm said. Otto Kaiser earned a BBB/stable rating.
