Lancaster Pollard facilitated the largest USDA Community Facilities Program loan obligation made thus far to a critical access hospital in Yuma, Colorado.
Lancaster Pollard Lancaster Pollard facilitated the largest USDA Community Facilities Program loan obligation made thus far to a critical access hospital in Yuma, Colorado.
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Home > News > Press Archive > 8-3-07 Yuma USDA Hospital

Final Financing Step Completes New Critical Access Hospital’s Journey

DENVER, Colo. (Aug. 3, 2007) – Yuma District Hospital has closed on $24.5 million in financing facilitated by Lancaster Pollard. This represents the final step in the process of planning, financing and constructing a 12-bed replacement facility that promises to encourage physician recruitment, provide for adaptation to new technologies, and contribute to economic growth in Yuma, Colo.

Yuma was in a tough position in terms of affording to replace its 1949 facility. It is one of hundreds of rural facilities in need of critical overhauls to continue serving their communities – many with disproportionate numbers of lower-income and elderly residents -- and straining to find resources to pay for them. The hospital worked with Lancaster Pollard, which specializes in helping small hospitals expand and improve services by financing construction, expansion and renovation projects, to obtain a $7 million direct loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Program, a loan program designed for rural areas. Another $17.5 million loan from Lancaster Pollard is 90 percent guaranteed by the USDA program, which lets the hospital borrow at a lower interest rate. 

Understanding smaller facilities’ needs and federal reimbursement structures is essential to ensuring they can afford to make the improvements they need. Lancaster Pollard is working with small hospitals nationwide that are dealing with shifting markets and the impact on their ability to afford major and necessary upgrades to technology and services. The Community Facility Program’s loan term of up to 40 years and general flexibility made it ideal for Yuma District Hospital and similar rural facilities, and other programs also are being used nationwide to renovate or replace facilities built in the mid-20th century.

The new Yuma District Hospital opened its doors on June 4, 2007, only 364 days after groundbreaking. The tailored financing by Lancaster Pollard of $24.5 million was the largest obligation ever made by the USDA to a critical access hospital.

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