On Thursday, February 22, HUD issued a $34.8 million mortgage insurance commitment for Delta Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Greenville, Mississippi. DRMC, a 398-bed not-for-profit hospital, is located in one of the most medically underserved areas in the nation. The hospital's primary and secondary service areas have the highest disease incidence in the nation of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac disease. HUD's commitment to the hospital will allow it to refinance debt and make critical infrastructure improvements that will help bring enhanced health care services to the residents of this region.

Funds from the loan will help renovate, expand, or upgrade DRMC's emergency department, respiratory therapy services, obstetrics and neonatal intensive care unit, heart center, materials management, and information technology department. Enabling the expansion of the hospital's emergency department is of particular importance, as the department currently has insufficient space to handle its volume. The loan will also allow the hospital to purchase needed equipment, including a CT scanner and nuclear medicine equipment, and will enable DRMC to refinance short-term debt associated with the purchase of a neighboring hospital in 2005.

With FHA insurance, DRMC will receive one of the lowest interest rates available to its segment of the market. At an interest rate of 5.75 percent, FHA insurance will save DRMC approximately $6.1 million in interest expense over the life of the loan. An estimated 60 to 80 construction- related jobs will be generated by this project.