Hartford Healthcare is heading back to the bond market.
The growing healthcare system, which recently added Norwich’s Backus Hospital to its network, is considering two new bond issuances to refinance its debt and pay for a new electronic medical record system, according to meeting minutes recently published by the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority (CHEFA), the state’s quasi-public agency that issues tax-exempt bonds on behalf of nonprofit institutions.
The financing structure hasn’t been finalized yet, but one deal could include a tax-exempt private placement deal or a fixed-rate public offering worth about $232 million, CHEFA records show.
Additionally, Hartford Healthcare may also issue $200 million of variable rate taxable bonds, CHEFA minutes show.
Hartford HealthCare is the parent to several hospitals and other health care facilities including Hartford Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut, and MidState, Windham and Backus hospitals.
If the deals go through, the funds would be used in several ways.
About $35 million would reimburse the Hospital of Central Connecticut for the 70,000-square-foot cancer center its building in New Britain.
Up to $47 million would be used to refinance a large portion of Backus Hospitals’ $57 million debt. Meanwhile, Hartford Healthcare is looking to use $150 million to finance the purchase and implementation of an electronic medical records system.
Hartford Healthcare currently has about $400 million in debt, CHEFA minutes show.
Apprenticeship program aims to curtail labor shortage
It’s no secret that the state’s manufacturing industry is having tough times finding high skilled labor.
To combat the trend — and gain a competitive edge over other firms — Farmington precision manufacturer Connecticut Spring & Stamping (CSS) has developed its own in-house apprenticeship program to train enough skilled workers to meet its current capacity and continue to grow the company.
The parts maker for the medical, aerospace, firearms and defense industries said its new training program is tailored to the skill sets required for tool and die makers and various spring coiler setup operations. The program currently has 11 participants, including five minorities and two women. It replaces a former state-funded training initiative.
The program includes specific tracks for CNC (computer numerical control) production set-up, press and fourslide diemakers, and stamping press, fourslide, and heat set-up operators. CSS is funding the program from various grants including the state Department of Labor’s 21st Century Skills Training Program and the Advance Training Grant Program.
So why put the time, money and energy into an apprenticeship program? For CSS the reason is simple: the firm is growing — 20 to 30 percent this year — and needs to keep up with customer demand.
“Well-paid manufacturing jobs requiring manual skills are out there, and as the skilled workforce ages, it is becoming more and more difficult to fill critical positions with trained employees,” says Kathy Bellemare, CSS’s director of human resources. “What training exists has a near-exclusive focus on non-manufacturing skills. While we are extremely proud of the program we have developed, we still hold out hope that technical institutions and local community colleges will step up to fill the void by establishing training programs and internships to meet the needs of manufacturers.”
Adams & Knight boasts new logo
Connecticut marketing firms continue to change their image — literally.
Hartford’s Adams & Knight is the latest integrated communications firm to launch its own new brand identity.
Coinciding with its 25th anniversary, the agency has launched a new logo that features the firm’s name in black type joined together by a contemporary multi-faceted spark.
“This logo reflects how our agency works,” says Adams & Knight CEO Jill Adams. “On a daily basis, we bring together different strategic marketing services to create an integrated solution that can impact organizations. Locked together with our tagline ‘ideas that spark results,’ this new logo captures the spirit of that creative process.”
The new logo was designed jointly by the firm’s Creative Director Don Carter and Chief Creative Officer Michael Asphar. It is less formal than the agency’s previous ones.
Earlier this year, Avon’s Mintz & Hoke Communications Group also rebranded.
