Birmingham-based Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) announced it has placed land under contract and plans to build a freestanding, 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Lakeland, Florida.
The Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Lakeland will accompany local acute care services by caring for patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions.
The hospital will provide physical, occupational and speech therapies that aim to restore functional ability and quality of life.
The medical staff will be comprised of physicians experienced in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as other specialties such as internal medicine, cardiology, infectious disease and nephrology to assist in the medical management and support a complex patient population. Staffing will include 24-hour care by registered nurses, many of whom are certified in rehabilitation nursing.
“The hospital we will build in Lakeland is a freestanding, state-of-the-art physical plant. The design is specific to caring for rehabilitation patients and is based off our experience operating 12 hospitals in Florida and 136 hospitals throughout the nation,” said Linda Wilder, president of Encompass Health’s Southeast region. “Additionally, our staff is dedicated to, trained and singularly focused on the specialty practice of physical rehabilitation, which will make the services we bring a high-quality complement to the existing strong healthcare services in the area. We are very glad to have the opportunity to serve the patients and community of Lakeland and the surrounding area.”
Encompass has a 13th Florida hospital under construction in north Tampa and has purchased land for development in St. Augustine, Clermont and Pensacola, as well as Lakeland.
The hospital will feature all private patient rooms, a therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies, an activities of daily living suite, cafeteria, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard.
Encompass Health offers both facility-based and home-based patient care through a network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. Its national network includes 136 hospitals, 245 home health locations and 83 hospice locations in 39 states and Puerto Rico.
