COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center announces it is partnering with Kindred Rehabilitation Services (KRS), a business unit of LifePoint Health, to build and operate a new 80-bed, 86,000 square foot adult inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Columbus. The facility will specialize in treatment and research for patients with stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries.
The new facility, to be located on Taylor Ave. adjacent to the medical center’s Outpatient Care East and near Ohio State East Hospital, will allow the academic health system to increase access to inpatient rehabilitation services in the region by 30%, addressing a significant community need. It will replace the 60-bed Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital.
“For more than 60 years, the faculty and staff at Dodd have delivered excellence to our patients, visitors and communities. We’re excited to build upon this legacy and partner with KRS on our shared vision to provide patients and their families with state-of-the-art acute rehabilitative care,” said Jay Anderson, chief operating officer for the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “We chose to build this new hospital in Columbus in an area with easy access to the major transportation arteries. This will ensure patients from throughout central Ohio have convenient access to comprehensive, specialized rehabilitation medical services.”
Ohio State and KRS will co-own and operate the new hospital. The medical center will provide health care oversight with a medical director in charge of clinical guidelines, best practices and quality and safety measures. KRS management will oversee day-to-day operations. Both will have shared accountability to the hospital’s joint oversight committee. All faculty and staff working at the new hospital will remain Ohio State employees and will continue to be highly valued members of the Buckeye family. The partners anticipate adding approximately 75 new jobs in clinical and support roles.
“As central Ohio grows rapidly, so does the need for exceptional rehabilitation care,” said Amanda Lucas, executive director of clinical operations for the Ohio State Neurological Institute and executive director of Ohio State Harding Hospital. “We’re proud to work with KRS to meet that community need, and we look forward to the many ways this partnership will transform rehabilitation care in central Ohio.”
The new hospital will offer 80 private patient beds, an acquired brain injury unit, multidisciplinary therapy gyms, an outdoor therapy courtyard and more amenities to help patients and their families focus on recovery. It will improve Ohio State’s research capabilities to advance rehabilitation technologies and treatments. Residents and medical students will also have resources to assist learning in the specialties supporting inpatient rehabilitation.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Ohio State Wexner Medical Center to build and operate this new specialty hospital in Columbus,” said Russ Bailey, president, Kindred Rehabilitation Services. “Both Ohio State and Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital have excellent reputations for providing high-quality, compassionate care to those they serve. As the need for inpatient rehabilitation care continues to increase in the community, we are looking forward to working together to expand access to these critical services and advance our mission of making communities healthier.”
Through this partnership, KRS and Ohio State Wexner Medical Center will deliver on their shared commitment to exceptional patient care and outcomes. Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital is a top-ranked “Best Hospital” by U.S. News and World Report, and KRS facilities have been recognized as some of America’s Best Rehabilitation Hospitals by Newsweek. KRS operates more than 30 inpatient rehabilitation facilities across 18 states. It has clinical affiliations with more than 300 colleges and universities across the country.
The three-story facility is expected to open in 2025.
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Media Contact
Marti Leitch
614-293-3737
Marti.Leitch@osumc.edu
Kindred Rehabilitation Services Media Contact
Aileen Bennett
615-920-7668
Aileen.Bennett@lpnt.net
About The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
One of the nation’s leading academic health centers, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center offers health care services in virtually every specialty and subspecialty in medicine. Thousands of patients come to us each month for treatments and services they can’t find anywhere else. Providing access to health care information is central to our research, education and patient care mission. At Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, we’re dedicated to improving health in Ohio and across the world through innovation in research, education and patient care.
About Kindred Rehabilitation Services
With more than 30 standalone, inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) across 18 states, Kindred Rehabilitation Services (KRS) is a partner of choice for many major hospital systems in the creation of joint-venture operations that are industry-leading in clinical and financial outcomes. KRS brings proven rehabilitation management and services expertise to help the nearly 30,000 patients we see each year in our specialty hospitals recover and return home quickly from any of a number of conditions, including stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, orthopedic injury, neurological conditions, amputation and trauma. Kindred Rehabilitation Services is a business unit of Brentwood, Tennessee-based LifePoint Health.
About LifePoint Health
LifePoint Health is a leader in community-based healthcare that serves patients and providers across the healthcare continuum. Driven by a mission of Making Communities Healthier, the company has a growing diversified healthcare delivery network comprised of 62 community hospital campuses, more than 30 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals, and more than 170 additional sites of care, including acute rehabilitation units, outpatient centers, and post-acute care facilities. It’s 50,000 dedicated employees are leading innovations in care across 29 states. More information about LifePoint can be found at www.LifePointHealth.net.
