New Rehabilitation Hospital to Open in Beachwood

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

University Hospitals and Nashville-based Centerre Healthcare Corp. announced a joint venture to construct a freestanding in-patient rehabilitation hospital in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood.

The 50,000-square-foot, 40-bed facility will cost $17 million to construct. It will be located at Green and Harvard Roadr, less than two miles from UH Ahuja Medical Center, a $298 million, seven-story hospital that opened in March. The site in Beachwood was chosen not only because of its proximity to UH Ahuja but because of convenient access to the highway, which will allow easy access for patients from throughout the area as well as to UH’s network of hospitals.

The state-of-the-art facility will provide physical, occupational and speech language therapy, along with specialized rehabilitation nursing and a wide range of clinical services for patients recovering from complex neurological, orthopaedic and cardiac conditions or from traumatic injuries. It will feature a dedicated brain-injury unit, a specialized stroke program, a gymnasium focused on accelerated recovery, daily-living training sites, a therapeutic pool and outdoor recreation areas. A decision on whether to add pediatric rehabilitation services will be made at a later date.

The freestanding hospital will be the most technologically advanced rehabilitation facility in the United States, while providing a patient-centered environment. It will replace the 20-bed in-patient rehabilitation center that is housed on a single floor of the Hanna House on the hospital’s main campus in University Circle.

The Centerre Healthcare-University Hospitals joint venture has selected Cogdell Spencer of Charlotte, N.C., as the developer and Earl Swensson Associates of Nashville as the architect. The project is scheduled to begin in October and be complete in October 2012. When finished, it is expected to employ about 150 people.

The Beachwood Rehabilitation Hospital is just the latest project meant to improve healthcare in Cleveland. Not only did the UH Ahuja Medical Center open earlier this year, but the Avon Clinic will also soon be open.