Officials cut ribbon for CoxHealth rehab hospital  

Roughly 16 months after construction began, officials partnering on a new inpatient rehabilitation hospital gathered in Ozark to mark the completion of the facility. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 21 for the CoxHealth Rehabilitation Hospital, 1660 W. Garton Road. The 63-bed, one-story facility spans 63,000 square feet on eight acres of land and is a joint venture between CoxHealth and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania-based Select Medical Holdings Corp. (NYSE: SEM). Officials declined to disclose the cost for the project. KCI Construction Co. served as general contractor, and Omaha, Nebraska-based HDR Inc. was the architect.  

Randy Berger, CoxHealth administrative director of corporate communications, said the Ozark facility will open Feb. 3. Officials previously estimated a Jan. 27 opening, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Discussions about the partnership began in early 2022.  

Lisa Hallam will serve as CEO of the new rehab hospital, which officials say will have a staff of roughly 120 full-time equivalent positions upon its opening. Hallam, who has more than 30 years of nursing experience, previously served as CEO at Select Specialty Hospital in Springfield. 

Health care officials estimated around 90% of the Cox Rehabilitation Hospital staff will transfer from existing units of CoxHealth and Select Medical, according to past reporting. 

Aside from Ashley Casad, president of Springfield Hospital Group and senior vice president of operations for CoxHealth, and Mike McAlister, regional vice president with Select Medical, Berger said board members are Jake McWay with CoxHealth and Tyler Hollenbach and Dr. Jose Vargas with Select Medical.   

Officials say the venture joins Select Medical’s national network of more than 30 medical rehabilitation hospitals. Among those in operation include Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation and Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital. 

Casad said every element of the hospital was designed for recovery, especially to serve patients who typically experience longer stays during rehab.  

“It is so great to celebrate what can happen when two organizations come together with a shared vision,” Casad said. “By partnering with Select Medical, we combine CoxHealth’s deep roots locally with the national expertise of Select Medical. By doing this, we are able to present rehab locally in a more effective and a more thoughtful way.” 

The hospital will serve as a consolidation of rehabilitation units CoxHealth and Select Medical operate in the Ozarks, officials say.  

McAlister previously told SBJ the 47 beds that CoxHealth utilizes among two rehab units in the Springfield area and the 16-bed acute rehab unit that Select Medical operates in its hospital at 1630 E. Primrose St. are consolidating to CoxHealth Rehabilitation Hospital.  

Casad said the property and building is owned by CMC Ozarks Rehabilitation LLC, which serves as the name of the joint venture between CoxHealth and Select Medical, according to past reporting. Select Medical will operate the rehab hospital as the managing partner, with officials noting the partnership is structured as a 51-49 relationship. 

David Chernow, vice chair at Select Medical, said the company is no stranger to Missouri, noting Select Specialty Hospital has operated in Springfield since 2008. At 63 beds, the new Ozark facility will be the largest rehab hospital, by bed count, in the Springfield area, officials say. It surpasses the 60-bed Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Springfield at 5904 S. Southwood Road near the Highway 65 and Evans Road intersection, which opened in 2014, according to SBJ archives. 

“Patients recovering from stroke, spinal cord and brain injuries, neurological diseases and other life-altering conditions will now have access to world-class, inpatient rehabilitation care,” Chernow said. “Every patient who comes through these doors will receive individualized care from a physician-led, multidisciplinary team of nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and other specialized clinicians. Together, this team will work with their patients and their families to regain function, mobility and independence with the ultimate goal of returning home.” 

Casad said the ribbon-cutting ceremony signifies a meaningful day for CoxHealth, but even more so for the patients and families that will soon walk through the hospital’s doors. She said demand for inpatient rehab will keep increasing as the region grows and the population continues to age.  

“Our rehab patients come to us in a very vulnerable time. They come when they have suffered a stroke and are learning how to walk again. They come when they are parents who have been in an accident and are working to regain the strength to get back home,” she said. “Those are the people this hospital is built for.”