MassDevelopment Provides $28 Million Financing Package for Athol Hospital

March 29, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Meggie Quackenbush, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 857-208-2777 (cell)
mquackenbush@massdevelopment.com

Marissa Colcord, Heywood Healthcare, (978) 630-6248
marissa.colcord@heywood.org

MassDevelopment has provided a $28,150,000 financing package for Athol Hospital, a hospital serving the North Quabbin region. Athol Hospital will use proceeds from this financing, which includes an $11,150,000 tax-exempt bond and a $17 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation, to build a three-story medical building adjoining the hospital’s existing facility at 2033 Main Street in Athol. This addition will expand the emergency department on the hospital’s first floor; add a rural health clinic on the second floor; and provide for office space on the third floor, which the hospital will lease to a local behavioral health services nonprofit. Athol Hospital will also use proceeds to build parking areas, make infrastructure improvements, renovate existing interiors, and buy and install equipment. TD Bank purchased the bond.

“MassDevelopment is dedicated to providing creative financing solutions for nonprofits across the Commonwealth that offer critical services and care,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “Through our tax-exempt bond and New Markets Tax Credits programs, we are proud to lend a hand in Athol Hospital’s efforts to improve its facilities with a larger emergency care unit and increased space for primary and behavioral health care.”

Athol Hospital is a designated Critical Access Hospital serving the nine communities of the North Quabbin Region and a member of the Heywood Healthcare system, an independent, community-owned healthcare system serving north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. In addition to Athol Hospital, the system is comprised of Heywood Hospital, a nonprofit, 134-bed acute-care hospital in Gardner; the Quabbin Retreat in Petersham; and Heywood Medical Group, with primary care physicians and specialists located throughout the region. Athol Hospital is a 25-bed non-profit, acute care and outpatient facility serving the communities of the North Quabbin region of Massachusetts. Athol Hospital’s services include 24/7 Emergency Care, Oncology, Radiology and Laboratory, Diabetes Center and Center for Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation. It is designated as a Critical Access Hospital and Primary Stroke Center, licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and accredited by the Joint Commission.

“We are pleased to partner with MassDevelopment to bring the Athol Hospital new emergency department and medical office building to fruition,” said Heywood Healthcare President and CEO Win Brown. “The North Quabbin communities deserve access to the highest quality care, and we are providing that with a state-of-the-art Center for Emergency Care, complete with new main entrance and radiology suite. With primary and multi-specialty medical practices on second floor and third floor fully dedicated to outpatient behavioral health services, we take another major step toward fulfilling our promise to the region.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2017, MassDevelopment financed or managed 377 projects generating investment of more than $4.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 9,488 jobs and build or rehabilitate 1,863 residential units.