The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it will insure a mortgage loan of $54.8 million to Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York, in a bid to improve the hospital’s infrastructure facilities.
The mortgage loan will be used to consolidate the two existing emergency departments into one and also for building a 208 car parking structure, a press release stated. By insuring the mortgage loan, FHA will help the hospital save approximately $17.5 million in interest costs over the life of the loan.
The loan has been sanctioned through the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Supplemental Mortgage Insurance Program. Ellis Hospital, which is a multi-campus, not-for-profit healthcare provider, already has two existing mortgages through FHA’s Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program, which finances construction or renovation of acute care hospitals. It will also finance major equipment needed to run the facility.
“By helping to make these projects possible, FHA is not only helping to modernize health care facilities, it is also contributing to the financial well-being of communities by enabling investments that create jobs and support local economies,” FHA Acting Commissioner Carol Galante said in a statement.
It's estimated that the construction project will support more than 450 full-time jobs. It is also expected to provide $177 million to the economy.
Since 1968, the FHA has insured 401 mortgage loans totaling $17.4 billion to hospitals in 43 states and Puerto Rico, the press release said.