$8,359,768
County Commissioners of Garrett County (MD)
Garrett County Memorial Hospital Bonds
December 2002

Garrett County Memorial Hospital (GCMH) possesses many of the same characteristics of First River Advisory's other hospital clients. However, as an instrumentality of Garrett County, GCMH represented First River Advisory's first truly governmental hospital.

When First River Advisory was engaged, the County Commissioners were already inclined to issue full-faith-and-credit general obligation bonds on behalf of GCMH. However, because they desired to limit their participation to a five-year planning horizon, the Commissioners challenged GCMH to devise a solution for long-term financing. First River Advisory performed a credit evaluation that indicated that GCMH could achieve an investment-grade rating on its own, without the County's backing. Ultimately, GCMH elected to take advantage of direct and guaranteed loans through the U.S. Rural Development Administration. The bonds were, then, structured to provide the requisite interim financing.