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Centre County backs Mount Nittany Medical Center bond refunding; hospital says no near-term change to facility-fee practices
Summary
The board approved Resolution 19 (2025) supporting tax-free refunding by the Centre County Hospital Authority for Mount Nittany Medical Center; hospital representatives said the refunding should produce savings and that they do not expect to change facility-fee practices in the near term.
Centre County commissioners voted to adopt Resolution 19 of 2025, a formal finding that tax-free financing through the Centre County Hospital Authority to refund prior bonds would further the health, safety and welfare of county residents. The board’s action clears the local-government finding required under the Municipal Authorities Act for the authority to proceed.
Tom Schrack, speaking for the Centre County Hospital Authority, said the project is a refunding of bonds issued on behalf of Mount Nittany Medical Center in 2016 and 2018 and that current market conditions offer potential savings; he said the authority had approved the project and that the closing target was December 11. "This project is a refunding project," Schrack said, describing it as the final piece needed before closing.
Commissioner Dershen raised concerns that another local provider had "abused the hospital facility fee situation" by assessing facility fees for procedures that commissioners considered non–hospital-level, and said such a practice would be a "deal breaker" for his support. Brian Roche, chief financial officer for Mount Nittany Health System, responded directly: "We can confirm that there's no expected changes here in the near term," and described the system's approach of moving appropriate procedures into ambulatory settings and investing in access and technology to reduce costs for patients.
Why it matters: the resolution enables the municipal-authority refunding process to proceed and could produce financing savings for Mount Nittany. Commissioners said they value Mount Nittany's investments in local care and sought assurance that the hospital will not expand facility fees at ambulatory centers.
The board adopted the resolution after discussion and a motion; the vote carried. Hospital representatives thanked county leaders and publicly recognized a long-serving colleague, Scott Kaufman, who is set to retire next week. The authority and hospital expect to proceed toward a December 11 closing if all steps continue as planned.
