September 5, 2006

People's Bank Provides $13.7 Million Loan To Johnson Memorial Hospital To Fund Emergency Room

90 Percent Loan Guarantee Provided by USDA Rural Development Loan Guarantee Program

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - People's Bank has provided a $13.7 million loan to the Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs to fund construction of a new state-of-the-art emergency room and to refinance existing debt. Ninety percent of the total loan amount is guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Community Facilities Loan Guarantee Program. The new emergency room, whose cost represents $8.9 million of the total loan, is expected to open in June 2007.

The USDA Rural Development program makes and/or guarantees loans to develop essential community facilities in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 people. USDA Rural Development can guarantee loans made and serviced by lenders such as banks, members of the Farm Credit System or insurance companies regulated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. USDA Rural Development may guarantee up to 90 percent of any loss of interest or principal on the loan. Direct loans from the USDA also can be made to applicants who are unable to obtain commercial credit.

Johnson Memorial Hospital, the USDA and People's Bank will hold a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, September 8 at the hospital's campus on 201 Chestnut Hill Road in Stafford Springs to mark the mid-point of construction with a signing of the final steel beam to be used for the new emergency room. Invited guests include U.S. Representative Rob Simmons, USDA Rural Development State Director David Tuttle, USDA Rural Development Area Director Mary Grasso, bank and hospital leadership and staff.

"People's Bank is pleased to meet the borrowing needs of a community hospital so important to the residents of north central Connecticut," said Paul Savino, a vice president in the People's Bank Commercial Lending Division. "With healthcare procedures increasing as our population ages, community hospitals are under pressure to treat an escalating number of patients, many of them in emergency room settings. Johnson Memorial's new emergency room will provide north central Connecticut with a state-of-the-art emergency facility, and the USDA loan guarantee made possible an attractive financing package with which the hospital will fund construction."

"Our new facility will be a technically advanced treatment center offering a full spectrum of services," said Alfred Lerz, president and executive director of Johnson Memorial Hospital. "With this new facility and the top-notch health professionals who will staff it, we'll be better able to meet the growing healthcare needs of residents in north central Connecticut."

"The USDA Rural Development program funds construction of community facilities, such as health care clinics, police and fire stations, schools and child care centers, which are all essential to the quality of life in any rural community," said Mary E. Grasso, area director for the USDA Rural Development program. "Through its Community Facilities Loan Program, USDA Rural Development is helping ensure that such facilities are readily available to all rural Americans. The commitment of USDA Rural Development to this effort is at the core of its mission and its promise to help build stronger, more vibrant rural communities nationwide," Tuttle added.

In addition to the construction or enlargement of community facilities for health care, public safety and public services, USDA loans may be used to acquire land needed for a facility, to pay necessary professional fees, and to purchase equipment required for the facility's operation. Loans and guarantees are available to public entities such as municipalities, counties, and special-purpose districts as well as nonprofit corporations and tribal governments.

Johnson Memorial's Emergency Department will measure in at 17,481 gross square feet, including 14 Exam Rooms, 6 Observation Units, 6 E.D. Express Rooms, 3 Trauma Rooms, and 5 Behavioral Health Rooms. Separate treatment areas will provide for critically injured patients and those with non-life-threatening conditions. In addition, special rooms will accommodate the unique needs of women, children, stroke and heart attack victims, psychiatric patients and sexual assault victims. The project also will enable the transition to electronic medical records, bedside registration, computerized medication processing and distribution and more.

Founded in 1842, People's Bank (peoples.com) is one of Connecticut's largest banks with assets of $11 billion, more than 240 ATMs and 156 branches, 73 of which offer convenient seven-day banking in Super Stop & Shop locations across the state. A diversified financial services company, People's Bank provides consumer, commercial, insurance, brokerage, financial advisory and trust services to personal and business banking customers. For more information about People's, its products and services, please call 800-772-1090, visit peoples.com or any of People's branches.

Johnson Memorial Hospital was founded in 1912 and has provided emergency services to the community for generations. The hospital's Emergency Department was originally built in 1975, measuring in at 3,300 gross square feet. It was expanded to its current size of 6,800 gross square feet in 1986. In the two decades since that time, the number of patients who utilize Johnson's emergency services in the course of a year has nearly quadrupled, from 5,500 to 19,000.

USDA has the unique responsibility of coordinating Federal assistance to rural areas of the nation. The Rural Development mission is to help rural Americans to improve the quality of their lives. To do this, USDA Rural Development is working in closely with the private and nonprofit sectors and with state, tribal, and local governments to fundamentally change the way government works. With this new philosophy of public partnership -- this new relationship among Government, industry, and communities -- many positive outcomes for rural Americans are happening daily. Now and in the future, prosperity in rural America depends on ensuring that residents have a wide range of economic opportunities. Rural Development works to make sure that rural citizens can participate fully in the global economy -- with technical assistance and programs that help rural Americans build strong economies to improve their quality of life.