Saint Luke’s Health System, Centerre Healthcare Sign Letter of Intent to Form Partnership

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Saint Luke’s Health System, in partnership with Centerre Healthcare Corporation headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, announced their intent to build a freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area. Pending site selection and certificate of need approval, the new hospital is expected to open in 2016.

The more than 60,000-square-foot, 60-bed rehabilitation hospital will serve the medical rehabilitation needs of patients in the Kansas City region by offering the highest quality programs for stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations and other major conditions.

The new rehabilitation hospital will allow Saint Luke’s to develop several inpatient rehabilitation Centers of Excellence, while being easily accessible to the entire Saint Luke’s patient population.

“It is the goal of Saint Luke’s Health System to provide a seamless care experience for our rehabilitation patients and to provide the most comprehensive level of inpatient rehabilitation services in the region,” said Julie Quirin, senior vice president of continuum of care services at Saint Luke’s Health System. “The opportunity to create a dedicated rehabilitation hospital aligns perfectly with that goal and will serve to greatly expand the services and resources available to the Kansas City community.”

The rehabilitation hospital will be designed to promote healing and return patients to independence outside the traditional hospital setting. The hospital will incorporate many distinctive features, including:

• Dedicated stroke unit with specialized programming
• Brain injury unit with specialized equipment, dedicated therapy and dining areas
• Gymnasiums featuring current therapy technology and treatments
• Specially equipped rooms for bariatric patients
• Dedicated training apartment where patients and families can practice daily living tasks before transitioning home
• Private, family-friendly rooms with sleeper chairs
• Pet therapy and other recreational programs
• Outdoor healing garden and walking trail to assist in rehabilitation

“We have a unique opportunity to partner with Saint Luke’s Health System,” said Pat Foster, CEO of Centerre Healthcare. “We intend to share their mission for healthcare innovation and superior clinical outcomes by providing exceptional rehabilitation care to the Kansas City community and surrounding region.”
This new partnership will mark Centerre’s 14th inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the United States.