Sparks sells rehab unit to HealthSouth

Just a little more than two years after opening a more than $2.1 million inpatient rehab inside the hospital, Sparks Health System is selling the 30-bed operation to nearby HealthSouth.

Ironically, HealthSouth provided rehab services for Sparks prior to the June 2008 opening of the Sparks rehab. The decision to separate from HealthSouth was made prior to Sparks being sold to Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates.

HMA purchased Sparks Health System in a $138-million that closed Nov. 30, 2009. The company operates 55 hospitals — including Summit Medical in Van Buren — in 15 states and employs about 33,700. The publicly held (NYSE: HMA) hospital company is directly and indirectly affiliated with 8,000 physicians.

The rehabilitation unit will be relocated from Health Management Associates’ Sparks Regional Medical Center to HealthSouth’s facility, according to the Monday (Oct. 4) statement from HealthSouth. No terms were disclosed.

"HealthSouth is committed to meeting the rehabilitative needs of patients in Ft. Smith, and we look forward to expanding our outreach in this market," Jay Grinney, HealthSouth president and CEO, said in a statement.

Terry Maxhimer, president of HealthSouth’s Mid-Atlantic Region, said in the statement that HealthSouth has a “terrific relationship with Sparks Regional Medical Center and will continue to work with them to provide a seamless continuum of care and ensure access to exceptional services for the patients of the Ft. Smith region."

Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth is the nation’s largest provider of inpatient rehabilitative healthcare and operates in 26 states and in Puerto Rico. The publicly held company operates four rehabilitation hospitals and one rehabilitation satellite unit throughout Arkansas in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Little Rock and Sherwood.