Mercy enters joint venture to operate rehab hospital in Rogers

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 740 views 

Mercy and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, a business unit of Tennessee-based Lifepoint Health, announced details Thursday (Jan. 18) of a joint venture agreement to operate a rehabilitation hospital in Rogers.

The facility at 4313 S. Pleasant Crossing Blvd., at the intersection of South Dixieland Road, east of Interstate 49, was previously known as Rogers Rehabilitation Hospital. It is now named Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Northwest Arkansas.

“Today marks an important chapter in our commitment to answering the needs of our growing community by replacing what was offered on the seventh floor of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas [in Rogers] by expanding to the free-standing rehabilitation facility,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas Communities. “Collaborating with Lifepoint Rehabilitation to jointly own and operate this facility reinforces our dedication to providing top-tier rehabilitation services. We’re confident that by working together, we can set a new standard for excellence in our region.”

The 4.9-acre inpatient rehabilitation facility has 36 private rooms and centralizes services that were previously managed by Lifepoint Rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers. As part of the transition, Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas’ acute inpatient rehabilitation unit transitioned all related care to the Pleasant Crossing Boulevard facility.

The 39,000-square-foot rehabilitation hospital provides intensive nursing, physical, occupational and speech pathology services for adults recovering from conditions such as stroke, neurological disease, brain or spinal cord injury and other debilitating illnesses or injuries.

Lifepoint Rehabilitation continues to manage the day-to-day operations of the facility. The Rogers agreement marks the seventh inpatient rehabilitation facility collaboration between Mercy and Lifepoint Rehabilitation.

“We are pleased to deepen our ongoing relationship with Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas through this joint venture,” said David Stark, vice president of operations for Lifepoint Rehabilitation. “Our patients are at the center of the work we do, and we look forward to continuing our work alongside Mercy as we expand access to high-quality rehabilitation care and better serve the needs of our patients in Northwest Arkansas.”

The transition of patients from Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas to the new location was completed late last fall. The ownership of the property never changed hands. Mercy and Lifepoint Rehabilitation entered into an agreement to operate the facility together.

The facility opened in February 2020 as Everest Rehabilitation Hospital. Community Healthcare Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Franklin, Tenn., paid $19 million for the property later that year.