City of Augusta approves $275 million bond issuance to benefit AU Health partner Wellstar

The city of Augusta this week approved an agreement that will loan up to $275 million to the Atlanta-based partner of Augusta’s Wellstar MCG Health.

The Augusta Commission voted unanimously to allow the Augusta Economic Development Authority to finance and issue qualified 501(c)3 bonds to benefit the nonprofit Wellstar Health System.

Under the agreement, the bonds' proceeds can be used to finance the purchase, construction and equipping of healthcare facilities. A July legal advertisement specified that all the projects expected to be financed will occur on the AU Medical Center campus.

The bonds will be limited obligations of the development authority, payable only from repaying the loan of the bonds' proceeds to AUMC or Wellstar Health. Neither the authority nor the city assumes responsibility to repay.

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The bond deal’s approval is the latest procedural step in the wake of the March 31 announcement of the new partnership forged between Augusta University Health System and Wellstar Health. Under the partnership, Wellstar assumed administrative control over the 478-bed Augusta University Medical Center and the 154-bed Children's Hospital of Georgia.

Commissioners agreed to move the bond agreement from the debate agenda to the lengthier consent agenda, which precludes public debate and is reserved for business items in which commissioners have reached a consensus, but that still require official votes.

An Aug. 8 public hearing convened by the development authority invited citizens to comment on or question the proposed bond deal, but no members of the public showed up.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Approved $275 million bond issue to fund local Wellstar improvements