NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Aug. 1, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its double-'A'-minus rating to the Maryland Health and Higher Education Facilities Authority's $101.94 million hospital revenue bonds, series 2001, issued for Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH), a 977-licensed-bed hospital. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its double-'A'-minus rating and 'A-1'-plus short-term rating on the outstanding debt--which totals approximately $223.5 million, including $60.0 million of commercial paper--issued for JHH. The series 2001 bonds are secured by the revenue of JHH, a member of the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) Corp. JHH is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University (JHU; double-'A'). The double-'A'-minus rating reflects JHH's excellent medical staff, very strong market position, growing patient utilization, and reputation as one of
