RehabCare Names CEO for Northland LTAC Hospital

RehabCare Group, Inc. (NYSE: RHB) has announced the appointment of Randy Hamilton as the Chief Executive Officer of Northland LTAC Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital under development in an area of Kansas City, MO known as the Northland. Scheduled to open this spring, Northland LTAC Hospital, 500 Northwest 68th Street, is a joint venture between two area healthcare leaders, Liberty Hospital and North Kansas City Hospital, and RehabCare, a leading national provider of post-acute care services. The 35-bed, 46,260 sq. ft., state-of-the-art hospital will serve more than 500,000 area residents and will employ about 90 people. "This project has been in progress for nearly two years and we are pleased to have Randy on board to help us move it into its final phase,” said John H. Short, Ph.D., RehabCare President and Chief Executive Officer. "Randy’s dual healthcare and business experience and results-oriented reputation will help make these next steps smooth and provide great leadership for the area’s first long-term acute care hospital.” Hamilton, a Kansas City native, has worked in the healthcare arena for nearly 15 years and most recently was the Chief Operating Officer for Chest Medicine Associates (Louisville, KY), responsible for a $7.5 million multi-disciplinary medical practice. Prior to that, he served as the Assistant Administrator of Kindred Hospital-Louisville, a 374-bed LTAC hospital. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KA and a registered Respiratory Therapist, he also holds an MBA from Webster University in Louisville, KY. "I am very excited to be part of bringing a new level of specialty care services to the residents of Northwest Missouri,” said Hamilton. "The partners of Northland LTAC Hospital have already provided excellent guidance and support as we move into final construction and the initial stages of hiring our first clinicians and administrative personnel.” Under the terms of the joint venture, RehabCare will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hospital and will provide staffing. Positions are currently being filled for medical, nursing, therapy, case management, pharmacy and support staff. Upon its opening, Northland LTAC Hospital will be the eleventh hospital to join RehabCare’s Hospital Division. It also will expand the company’s continuum of care in the Kansas City market, which currently includes 18 skilled nursing facility programs as well as two inpatient rehabilitation facilities, one located at North Kansas City Hospital and a skilled nursing unit managed in partnership with North Kansas City Hospital. Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals are specialty hospitals designed for extended stay patients with medically complex, chronically ill conditions. The care provided is more individualized and resource-intensive than is provided in a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. The average length of stay for an LTACH patient is 25 days. With more than 25 years experience, RehabCare is a leading provider of physical rehabilitation program management services in about 1,250 hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities throughout the United States. RehabCare also owns and operates freestanding rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals. For more information about RehabCare, please visit http://www.rehabcare.com.