(Editor's note: correcting misstatement of issuer's liquidity position in third bulleted item below.) NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Oct. 19, 1999--Standard&Poor's today lowered its rating on New Jersey Health Care Facilities Finance Authority's $29.11 million revenue and refunding bonds series 1998 and $32.68 million revenue bonds series 1988B, issued for Rahway Hospital to double-'B' from triple-'B'. The outlook is negative. The speculative downgrade is based on hospital's: -- Lack of timely response to effectively correct systemic problems, the cumulative effects of which are threatening its business fundamentals; -- Accelerating operating losses, which led to violation of bond covenants with debt service coverage of less than 1.25 times (x); and -- Gradual decline in liquidity to $13.9 million
