Kindred Healthcare, Palomar Health Announce Plans for Inpatient Rehab Hospital

LOUISVILLE, Ky., and SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Kindred Healthcare, Inc. recently signed a definitive agreement with Palomar Health to create a joint venture to construct and operate a 52-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Escondido, California, a city in north San Diego County.

Kindred will own a slight majority in the joint venture and will manage the day-to-day operations of the new hospital, to be constructed on the campus of Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Subject to several regulatory and other approvals, Kindred expects the hospital to open by the third quarter of 2019.

Kindred and Palomar have an existing relationship as Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services manages the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Palomar Health’s downtown campus. Also in the San Diego market, Kindred operates a transitional care hospital and home health and hospice services. Palomar Health, the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in northern San Diego County, operates three hospitals, including Palomar Medical Center, which opened in 2012. It was the first hospital in California to be affiliated with the Mayo Clinic Care Network and offers a complete range of health services to more than 500,000 residents within its public hospital district.