Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' issuer credit rating (ICR) to Children's Hospital in New Orleans (Children's), La. Children's sole member is Louisiana Children's Medical Center (LCMC), whose two entities are Children's and Touro Infirmary (Touro; 'BB+'). The rating on Children's also incorporates the financial profile of the consolidated system, LCMC. The outlook is stable. The 'AA-' rating reflects our view of Children's very strong balance sheet with no debt, strong liquidity, historically good excess income, and solid market position as the only stand-alone children's hospital in Louisiana with a dominant market share in the New Orleans metro area. The 'AA-' rating also incorporates Children's smaller revenue base as well as light operations. While we note that neither
