Article: Trustees buy Beth Israel time; Hospital invests to improve reputation; cash troubles persist.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

This summer, when Beth Israel Medical Center was down to only enough cash to cover seven days of expenses, its trustees did an extraordinary thing. Pressed by the hospital's strong-willed chairman, Morton Hyman, the 80-member board anted up $26 million over three months to avert a financial crisis. Mr. Hyman contributed $1 million, and two other trustees gave at least $5 million apiece.

Their unprecedented generosity rescued the hospital, prompting rating agencies to upgrade its bonds and buying Beth Israel time to get its house in order.

``It was a real commitment from the board that the hospital was not going away,'' says Moody's Investors Service ...

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