Plains hospital saves $1.89 million on loan

The Montana Department of Commerce released good news about the Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains.

The hospital will save $1.89 million over the life of a $6.17 million loan after the Montana Facility Finance Authority refinanced them into a bond at a lower interest rate with a shorter repayment term.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Montana Facility Finance Authority and First Security Bank to accomplish this restructure of our long-term debt,” said Chief Financial Officer Carla Neiman from the Clark Fork Valley Press.

“The transaction will save the hospital $1.89 million in cash flow over the next 20 years and free up those funds to be expended on other investments to sustain and improve health care delivery in Sanders County,” she continued to say.

The local hospital secured the original loan in 2007, using it to construct a major addition to the building, which replaced the main lobby as well as the acute care, emergency, radiology and surgery departments and also doubling the size of the clinic.

“Hospitals are central not only to the health of the people in the communities they serve but also to the health of their local economies,” said MFFA Executive Director Adam Gill. 

“By continually expanding and improving their services, hospitals in Montana will be leaders in building stronger and more resilient communities across the state,” he continued to say.

The state authority provides nonprofit hospitals as well as other healthcare providers with the option for low-cost capital financing through tax-exempt bonds, which the borrowers otherwise wound’t be.

The bond that provided the lower interest rate was privately placed with First Security Bank of Missoula, a division of Glacier Bank.