By Paul Craig, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
Jun. 26–A $17.3 million hospital proposed for construction in Salmon Creek would be the first in Clark County and one of a handful in the state specializing in medical rehabilitation.
Select Medical Corp. of Mechanicsburg, Pa., has filed a letter of intent with the Washington Department of Health to build a 44-bed, 50,000-square-foot facility two blocks southwest of Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital.
Select Rehabilitation Hospital of Vancouver would provide care to people with spinal cord injuries, brain trauma and those recovering from a stroke, said Richard Fiske, Select’s vice president of development.
“There are no services like this provided in the area,” he said.
The company operates 92 specialty hospitals and approximately 1,000 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the U.S.
Select’s Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey ranked second among rehabilitation hospitals in the country for its quality of care, according to a physicians survey published by U.S. News & World Report.
Fiske said the company wants to build in Clark County because of the geographic area it would serve, drawing patients from Skamania, western Klickitat, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties in Washington, as well as “some draw” from Oregon. The proximity to Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital was also appealing.
The rehab hospital would employ 200 people. The goal is to open by late fall 2009, according to Fiske. The company must first submit an application to the state’s Certificate of Need program. Karen Nidermayer, program analyst for the Certificate of Need, said it typically takes six to eight months for a decision to be made on an application. She said statistics on the number of beds already available in the area dedicated to rehabilitation won’t be compiled until after Select’s application is received.
Fiske said Select would break ground immediately if the state approves the project and the hospital would take 10 months to construct.
Paul Craig covers the health care industry for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4520 or via e-mail at [email protected].
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