Franklin, Tenn.-based acute-care hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. continues to underperform our expectations, characterized by sluggish adjusted admissions trends and cost pressures that have resulted in pro forma leverage of around 6.5x. This is a deviation from our prior expectation that the second quarter would be sequentially stronger than the first quarter, and that same-facility EBITDA growth would lead to some deleveraging this year. We are lowering our corporate credit rating on Community to 'B' from 'B+'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we are lowering our rating on Community's secured debt to 'BB-' from 'BB' and lowering our rating on its unsecured debt to 'CCC+' from 'B-' to reflect the downgrade on the company. Our stable
