Kettering Health Network’s bond rating has been upgraded to ‘A2’ by Moody’s Investor Services. Moody’s revised the network’s rating outlook to stable at its higher rating level. The rating affirmations affect approximately $397 million of revenue bonds.

According to Moody’s, the upgrade reflects Kettering Health Network’s strong operating margins in fiscal years 2013 and 2014, and significant improvement in liquidity ratios, which have led to improved debt coverage metrics. In addition, Moody’s recognized the network for its sizeable market presence over a broad and consolidated service area, significantly improved and strong adjusted operating cash flow margins, and manageable capital spending plans in the coming years.

Moody’s noted that the primary factors that contributed Kettering Health Network’s strong fiscal year 2014 results include expense management initiatives such as improved employee productivity and supply cost savings; impressive volume growth in key areas such as inpatient admissions, outpatient visits and total surgeries; and Medicaid expansion.

“This upgrade by Moody’s affirms Kettering Health Network’s strategy to align best practices for patient care among our facilities,” says Terri Day, president of Kettering Health Network. “This strategy helps us to continually improve quality while closely managing delivery costs. CEO Fred Manchur and I have worked closely with our leadership team to develop a roadmap that will help us achieve the highest levels of patient satisfaction, quality and safety, and financial performance. Our 11,000+ employees are the key to our reaching these ambitious goals.”