50-bed rehabilitation hospital planned for Post Falls with 2028 opening

An Alabama health care company is planning to build a 50-bed rehabilitation hospital in Post Falls.

Encompass Health intends to open the 55,000 -square -foot hospital in 2028.

The rehabilitation center will serve patients recovering from illness, stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations and orthopedic issues. In addition to 24-hour nursing care, the hospital will provide physical, occupational and speech therapies. The hospital will have private patient rooms, a large therapy gym, an in-house dialysis suite, a dining room, a pharmacy and an outdoor therapy courtyard.

“Kootenai County is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state and the nation, and the community is already underserved in inpatient rehabilitation. This hospital will help meet that growing need by bringing high-quality, specialized care closer to home,” Encompass Health West president Kim Steward said in a statement.

Encompass Health runs more than 175 hospitals across the United States. They specialize in rehabilitative care for patients recovering from major injury or illness. They are headquartered in Alabama and do not currently have a large presence in the Pacific Northwest. Its only other hospital in Idaho and the region as a whole is in Boise. That 60-bed, 14,000 -square -foot hospital opened in 2019.

The 50-bed Encompass Health facility will more than double the capacity for in-patient rehabilitative care in Post Falls. Rehabilitation Hospital of the Northwest operates a 30-bed rehabilitation facility and North Idaho Advanced Care Hospital opened a 17-bed rehabilitation unit in Post Falls last year. Both hospitals are owned by Ernest Health, a rival for-profit chain of rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals in the United States. That network operates 35 hospitals in 13 states.

The largest rehabilitation center in the region is Providence St. Luke’s Medical Center in Spokane.

Construction of the rehabilitation hospital will begin this fall east of Highway 41 and north of Prairie Avenue 8142 North Zorros Road. The location is the largest lot that is part of the Jacklin Ranch commercial park in Post Falls. Jacklin Northwest sold the 7.88-acre lot to Encompass Health earlier this year.

Just north of the east end of Post Falls, the location was chosen because of its proximity to acute care providers and Interstate 90, according to Encompass Health spokesperson Polly Manuel.