Rush plans new rehab hospital and expansion into physical therapy as part of joint venture with Select Medical

An 84-bed rehabilitation hospital is planned for the West Side campus of Rush University System for Health, and Rush plans to expand further into physical therapy as part of a new partnership, the system announced Thursday.

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An 84-bed rehabilitation hospital is planned for the West Side campus of Rush University System for Health, and Rush plans to expand further into physical therapy as part of a new partnership, the system announced Thursday.

Rush announced a joint venture agreement Thursday with Select Medical Corp., which operates rehabilitation hospitals and clinics across the country. Under the agreement, Select Medical will be the majority owner and managing partner of the hospital and 63 physical therapy centers throughout the Chicago area and northwest Indiana region.

The physical therapy centers include Select Medical’s NovaCare Rehabilitation, Select Physical Therapy and Michiana Orthopaedic & Sports Physical locations, as well as the Rush Rehabilitation center. They will be re-branded as Rush Physical Therapy.

The hospital is expected to be complete by 2022 and will include 30 beds for critical illness recovery and 54 beds for rehabilitation requiring overnight care. It will be named the Rush Specialty Hospital.

Select Medical will manage the existing Rush Rehabilitation unit, located in the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center on the medical center campus, until the new hospital is built.

Dr. Ranga Krishnan, chief executive officer of Rush University System for Health, said in a news release the system was looking for a strategic partner that could complement the care it provides, and that “in a post-COVID-19 world, post-acute services will be even more important.”

Health systems across the Chicago area and the country have been expanding through mergers, acquisitions and partnerships in recent years, as they compete to attract patients with more services and locations.

Rehabilitation hospitals and physical therapy centers have played an important role in helping people to recover from COVID-19 in recent months. People who become severely ill with COVID-19 often need therapy and rehabilitation to regain their functionality.

The Chicago area already has a number of rehabilitation hospitals, including the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab; Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, which is part of Sinai Health System; and Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, which is part of Northwestern Medicine.

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