Cedars, UCLA To Open Rehab Hospital
Two of Los Angeles' most prestigious hospital operators have joined forces with a for-profit rehabilitation services firm to open a rehab hospital on the city's Westside.
UCLA Health Services, which operates Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, has formed a joined venture with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Select Medical, a provider of rehab services, to open a standalone facility by 2015. Select operates facilities in 42 states.
“The addition of this rehabilitation facility will be of extraordinary benefit to the people of Los Angeles,” said Dr. David T. Feinberg, M.D., the UCLA Health System's president.
The 138-bed rehabilitation hospital will open on the site of the former Century City Doctors Hospital, which was closed in 2008 after its owners filed for bankruptcy liquidation only three years after it had begun operations. Tenet Healthcare Corp. previously owned the hospital, closing it in 2004.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. UCLA and Cedars will migrate their combined 39 rehabilitation beds to the new facility.
“They are functionally full and need the (acute care) beds,” said Steven T. Valentine, president of The Camden Group and a member of the Payers & Providers editorial board. But Valentine also noted that both the Cedars and UCLA brands will add prestige to the rehab facility. It will also be less expensive to operate than keeping rehab beds within an acute care setting.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon begin bundling payments for rehabiliation and other post-acute care services, prompting providers to find new ways to save money in that area.
“I believe in my heart you will see more repurposing of acute care buildings...for rehabiliation services,” said Valentine, who added it will help hospitals control costs.
