The nation’s largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals hopes to open a 50-bed inpatient facility in Bangor, which could help fill a need that was left when the city’s biggest hospital stopped offering similar services last year.
Encompass Health Corp. already has a presence in Maine, partnering with MaineHealth to run the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland, but this project would be its first hospital in Bangor.
The company has proposed to build the facility at 1017 Union St., according to a Nov. 6 letter to Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services. That site is currently available for commercial development, according to Maine Commercial Realty.
The proposed hospital would offer 24-hour care to patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries, attorney John P. Doyle Jr. wrote in the letter on behalf of Encompass. Those include amputations, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes and complex orthopedic conditions.
Maine DHHS has received only a letter of intent to build and operate the proposed hospital, spokesperson Jackie Farwell said. As part of the department’s “certificate of need” process, Encompass will need to submit an application outlining its plans, and it must “demonstrate sufficient need,” for the project, she said.
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The process requires certain types of health care providers to get state approval prior to making major changes in the health care landscape, according to the department.
The proposal comes after the region’s biggest hospital had to stop offering similar services at the end of last year.
Northern Light Health’s Eastern Maine Medical Center closed its acute inpatient rehabilitation program in Bangor last December because it was unable to adequately staff the unit and did not want to risk the quality of care, spokesperson Suzanne Spruce said.
The proposed hospital, estimated to cost $61.4 million to build, would give patients in the Bangor region a place to recover from major ailments and injuries, though not many details were included in the proposal.
“The proposed hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life,” Doyle wrote to Maine DHHS. “Care will be provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians.”
If it goes forward, the proposed hospital would offer care that complements local acute care services, he wrote.
A spokesperson for Encompass, Danielle Hall, said she could not provide more information on Wednesday.
The hospital appears to be part of Encompass’ larger plans to expand its footprint of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals across the country, though the Bangor project is not listed online.
Encompass has 159 hospitals in 37 states and Puerto Rico, Doyle wrote.
Last month, Encompass announced the openings of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and Prosper, Texas. In New England, a hospital is expected to open in Johnston, Rhode Island, in the summer of 2024, and plans for one in Danbury, Connecticut, are also in the works for an opening in 2026, according to the company’s plans.
In the Bangor region, Northern Light Health welcomes the addition of new skilled nursing care services, said its spokesperson, Spruce.
“There is a need for these services,” she said. “We already work well with Encompass Health’s New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland, and would expect a similar, collegial relationship here.”
Northern Light also has a five-bed acute inpatient rehabilitation program in Presque Isle. The hospital system offers outpatient rehabilitation services in Bangor, Orono and other locations throughout Maine.
