Cision PR Newswire

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center Now Open in Texas

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Nov 11, 2024, 6:14 PM ET

The 61-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital is Encompass Health's first hospital fully constructed using prefabricated modules.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., and HOUSTON, Nov. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Encompass Health, the nation's largest owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, announced the opening of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center in Texas. The 61-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital, located at 3010 Yellowstone Blvd., is Encompass Health's first hospital fully constructed using prefabricated modules. This innovative construction method, pursued in collaboration with Alabama-based company, BLOX, resulted in enhanced quality control, less waste and a condensed design and construction timeline―enabling Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center to serve Houston patients sooner.

A Shared Vision

Encompass Health and BLOX began working together in the early 2000s with a shared vision to build higher quality and more cost-efficient hospitals. Initially, BLOX manufactured bathroom pods off-site in an assembly line format at their facility in Bessemer, Alabama for installation at new Encompass Health hospitals. Since that time, both companies have grown rapidly, and BLOX has progressed from producing bathrooms to headwall modules and patient rooms, to a fully prefabricated hospital.

BLOX utilized its DesignManufactureConstruct^™ (DMC) approach to manufacture and ship 80 uber-modules to Houston, where a team of on-site specialists stitched them into a completed hospital. The DMC process is notably fast and capable of delivering completed buildings much more quickly than traditional construction methods.

"We're proud to work with our innovative partners at Encompass Health," said BLOX CEO Chris Giattina. "Their prescient leadership saw the potential power of using DMC to raise the healthcare standard for quality, value and speed to market. We are building on the successes at Houston to continuously improve the delivery of future Encompass Health hospitals."

"This milestone demonstrates our nimble and innovative approach to providing patient-centered services as the demand for inpatient rehabilitation services continues to grow," said Encompass Health Chief Design and Construction Officer Tom Boyle. "The capacity to quickly replicate hospitals in highly competitive markets is important to our success."

About the Hospital

Every detail of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center was created with patients' needs in mind. The nearly 70,000-sq ft freestanding location in the heart of The Medical Center allows for easier transfers from other facilities and more convenient access for families and visitors. Amenities include all private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym featuring advanced rehabilitation technologies, an activities of daily living suite, in-house dialysis suite, therapy courtyard, dining room, in-house pharmacy and dayroom areas.

An interdisciplinary team of highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians provide physical, occupational and speech therapies to help patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions restore function and quality of life. Patients receive a minimum of three hours of intensive therapy for five days each week, frequent physician visits and 24-hour nursing care.

"The need for inpatient rehabilitative care in Houston is growing rapidly," said Frank Brown, president of Encompass Health's Southwest region. "As we celebrate the opening of our ninth hospital in the metropolitan area, we look forward to providing high-quality rehabilitative care that will help our patients get back to what matters most."

Just the Beginning

With a robust pipeline of development projects, Encompass Health continues to expand to serve patients in need of inpatient rehabilitation across the country. Prefabrication will continue to play a significant role in the construction of Encompass Health's new hospitals.

"Encompass Health is a process-driven company," said Boyle. "We look forward to continuing to evolve and improve upon the delivery of this construction method."

To learn more about Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center, visit encompasshealth.com/locations/houston/houstonmedrehab.

About BLOX
BLOX is the nation's largest manufacturer of healthcare buildings. BLOX delivers turn-key building to serial builders across the country using the DesignManufactureConstruct^™ (DMC) process: a 21st-century approach to building delivery that leverages manufacturing to simplify construction. Headquartered in its one-million-square-foot facility in Birmingham, Alabama, BLOX is shaping the future of the industry by utilizing technology, innovation and manufacturing to deliver buildings at a new industry standard.

About Encompass Health
Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States. With a national footprint that includes 166 hospitals in 38 states and Puerto Rico, the Company provides high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments to maximize recovery. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies and Becker's Hospital Review's 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to prefabrication construction projects, demand for inpatient rehabilitation and the Encompass Health development pipeline, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date made, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against Encompass Health; the possibility projects will experience unexpected delays; disease outbreaks, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; BLOX's ability to meet Encompass Health's construction requirements; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including its Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023 and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended Mar. 31, 2024, Jun. 30, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2024.

Encompass Health media contact:
Polly Manuel | 205-970-5912
media@encompasshealth.com