Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has raised the short-term rating component on Maryland Health&Higher Educational Facilities Authority's series 2008A variable-rate bonds issued for University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) to 'AAA/A-1' from 'AAA/A-2'. The rating reflects the application of Standard&Poor's low-correlation joint criteria. We based the long-term rating component jointly on a Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania-supported letter of credit (LOC) and our 'A' underlying rating (SPUR) on UMMS. We based the short-term rating component solely on the bank. We revised the short-term rating component based on the rating revision of the LOC provider Citizens Bank to 'A/A-1' from 'A-/A-2' (see "Citizens Financial Group's Bank Subsidiaries Ratings Raised To 'A/A-1'; Outlook Is Stable," published Nov. 30, 2011,
