New $24M rehab hospital planned in Dayton

Premier Health is planning to build a $24 million, 60-bed rehabilitation hospital in partnership with an Alabama-based health network.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio is expected to open in early 2020 on the campus of Miami Valley Hospital north of Apple Street.

“As we invest for the future, we expect this new hospital will create considerable value for our patients by delivering quality care efficiently,” stated Mike Maiberger, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Premier Health, and president of Miami Valley Hospital.

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Encompass and Premier still need to finish negotiations before the deal is finalized.

Encompass Health’s HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Dayton, which is now at Elizabeth Place, will relocate to the new facility. Premier Health’s inpatient rehabilitation business Miami Valley Hospital Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, which now has about 90 beds inside Miami Valley but will go down to 60 beds, will move to the new facility.

“But we believe working together we can improve the quality and cost of care,” said Craig Self, Premier’s chief strategy officer.

The new hospital will be designed to fit in with the adjacent development on the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds property, which is owned by Premier and the University of Dayton.

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“Together, we will make a difference in the lives of Southwest Ohio residents overcoming a variety of debilitating illnesses and injuries so they can return to independent lives and the people and activities they love most,” stated Troy DeDecker, president of Encompass Health’s central region.

At the same time, Premier Health is planning to close down Good Samaritan Hospital, which it operates in northwest Dayton, and is working with other groups to attract a new user to the Philadelphia Drive site. Premier Health CEO Mary Boosalis said it would not make sense to build the rehabilitation hospital as a replacement for Good Samaritan’s main campus because it will be tied to services at Miami Valley Hospital and patients will be transferred between the two.

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Rehabilitation services help patients with movement and independence after an injury or in response to a disease. The rehabilitation hospital will tie into services at Miami Valley, like helping patients get back on their feet after being treated for a traumatic injury.

“It’s important to us from a trauma perspective too, with Miami Valley being a Level 1 trauma,” Self said.

Encompass Health will oversee hospital operations once the new hospital is complete. Encompass is a for-profit, publicly traded company with a large national footprint of of 127 hospitals and 237 home health and hospice locations in 36 states and Puerto Rico.

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