Hospital leaders went before county commissioners on Wednesday to take advantage of the county's tax exempt status.

This will allow them to minimize the interest they'll owe from the sale of bonds.

St. Charles Chief Financial Officer, Karen Shepherd says it's been five years since they've sold bonds.

"We haven't been out for debt for quite a time, since 2008.  And at that time we had to refinance when the interest rates went up significantly.  So this time we're in a much better position, a more stable position than we were at that time."

The commissioners approved the hospital tapping into their tax exempt position for these bond sales.

St. Charles plans to use the funds to build a new Prineville Hospital and a new cancer center in Bend, among other projects.