HealthSouth Wins Approval for New Hospital
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — HealthSouth, based in Birmingham, has won approval from the Tennessee officials to build a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Franklin, Tenn.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed an order to approve a certificate of need to build the hospital. Getting approval had been a battle for HealthSouth since 2011 because the provider has been competing with Middle Tennessee Rehabilitation Hospital to build a rehab facility on the same site near Williamson Medical Center, according to the Nashville Post.
Construction on the HealthSouth rehab hospital will begin at the end of this year. The 49,000-square-foot facility will provide patients with access to specialized rehabilitation programs and is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2015. The development of the hospital represents an approximate $23 million investment in the community and will generate about 100 new jobs once it’s operational.
“We are pleased that the decision of the Health Services and Development Agency in Tennessee to approve our certificate of need application has been upheld,” said Barbara Jacobsmeyer, HealthSouth central region president, in a statement. “This new hospital emphasizes our continued focus on disciplined growth and complements our existing presence in Tennessee.”
HealthSouth operates six inpatient rehab hospitals throughout Tennessee. These hospitals provide rehabilitative care to patients who are recovering from conditions such as stroke and other neurological disorders, cardiac and pulmonary conditions, brain and spinal cord injuries, complex orthopedic conditions and amputations. HealthSouth’s facilities include Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, a joint venture with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The new hospital may present the opportunity to expand the relationship with VUMC, according to HealthSouth.
“Vanderbilt University Medical Center has had a long-term, positive relationship of more than 20 years with HealthSouth through our partnership in Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital,” said Laura Beth Brown, vice president of Vanderbilt Health Services and president of Vanderbilt Home Care Services, in a statement. “Through our Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, we are growing programs, services and patient volumes in areas that would align with the additional space and opportunities created through this new hospital, and we are currently exploring options with HealthSouth for how we might work together toward the goal of increasing services to the citizens of Williamson and surrounding counties.”
Operating in 28 states and Puerto Rico, HealthSouth is the nation’s largest owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in terms of patients treated and discharged, revenues and number of hospitals.