The University of Alabama at Birmingham has broken ground on a $156.7 million, 350,000-square-foot inpatient rehabilitation facility that will replace the Spain Rehabilitation Center.
The new facility will be 11 stories tall and hold 78 rehabilitation beds, 28 acute care beds and have technology specifically designed to provide rehabilitative care for patients. It is slated to open in 2025.
The new facility will focus on neurorehabilitation for patients following stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, as well as seizure monitoring, providing clinical, research and education services to patients with epilepsy.
“Our current facility is about 60 years old, and although multiple renovations have been made throughout the years, this new building will allow us to build upon and maximize UAB Medicine’s commitment to providing patient-centered care,” said Dr. Vu Nguyen, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine.
Each floor will treat specific patient populations, providing for seamless care and support for physical, mental and emotional recovery. In addition, the top floor will be home to a garden where patients can work on goals around mobility, cognition and range of motion. The bottom floor will have a terrain park for patients to practice navigating different terrains, including gravel, mulch, turf, sand, wood decking, crushed stone and paving stones. There will be a city street simulation with cross walks, curbs, sidewalk ramps and traffic lights and an auto simulation that allows patients to learn and practice car transfer skills in the safety of a clinical setting.
Inside the space, there will be overhead lifts in each room, an open therapy gym, private therapy suites and speech therapy suites, as well as family rooms on each patient floor, a patient art gallery and two outdoor terraces.
The project architect is Gresham Smith, and the general contractor is Hoar Construction LLC.
