Kindred Healthcare plans to add acute inpatient rehabilitation units to five of its long-term acute care hospitals and start serving patients in September.
The rehabilitation units will be added in Houston, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg and Green Cove Springs, Fla. and will have a total of 60 beds, according to a press release.
Jason Zachariah, Chief Operating Officer of Kindred Healthcare and President of Kindred Rehabilitation Services, said the expansion will help the company "meet a growing need for inpatient rehabilitation services."
"In this time of pandemic, it is important to note that a growing body of evidence demonstrates that the specialized services delivered in LTAC hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation play a unique and positive role in treating patients suffering with, and recovering from, COVID-19," Pete Kalmey, executive vice president and president of Kindred Healthcare's hospital division, said in a prepared statement.
Long-term acute care hospitals have experience in treating patients with pulmonary concerns or who are dependent on ventilators, he said, which can be true of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
The new units will be managed by Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services, which works with acute rehabilitation programs in about 100 hospitals in 27 states.
"These ARUs will enable Kindred to provide a broader range of acute-level, physician-led rehabilitation expertise while avoiding the disruption of transferring a patient to a separate facility," Kalmey said.
Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare has about 31,800 employees in 1,731 locations, including 64 long-term acute care hospitals, 21 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, 10 sub-acute units, 95 inpatient rehabilitation units (hospital-based) and contract rehabilitation service businesses.