Rehab hospital slated for Carmel, but operator has been closing other locations

Another rehabilitation hospital is planned for central Indiana, but one of the developers has been cutting hundreds of jobs and shutting down other hospitals around the country in recent months.

PAM Rehabilitation Hospital of Indianapolis is being developed by partners Medistar Corp. and Post Acute Medical LLC—or PAM for short, same as the hospital.

In a joint statement on May 9, the partners said the hospital will be “strategically located” along U.S. 31 in Carmel “to provide convenient access to robust post-acute services for patients served by this regional medical hub.”

The announcement did not give an address. Neither company returned calls or emails to the IBJ to give details.

They described the proposed hospital as a 60,000-square-foot inpatient rehab facility that will provide a wide variety of therapy services. It is expected to feature a treatment unit for patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury, stroke or neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Plans call for 60 inpatient beds as well as outpatient services.

The hospital is the 11th joint project of Medistar and Post Acute Medical.

Medistar, based in Houston, develops a wide range of medical buildings, apartment towers and hotels. Among its health care projects are hospitals, skilled nursing homes and medical office buildings.

Post Acute Medical LLC, based in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, specializes in recovery facilities for patients with amputations, brain injuries, heart conditions, strokes and other serious conditions.

Even as it is opening new facilities, Post Acute Medical LLC has been closing others. In March, it announced plans to close a 62-bed hospital in suburban Milwaukee, throwing 172 people out of work. In a state-required workforce notice, the company attributed the closure to “dramatic changes designed to substantially limit the type of patients who could be treated in long-term acute-care hospitals,” according to the Milwaukee Business News.

Also in March, the company said it would shut down two locations in Corpus Christi, Texas, affecting 162 employees, and would cut another 65 jobs elsewhere in the area, according to the Corpus Christ Caller Times.

And its partner, Medistar, also has seen projects falter. The Bay Area Regional Medical Center LLC in Houston, developed by Medistar and opened in 2014, announced in May 2018 it would close and file for bankrutpcy, according to the Houston Business Journal.

Central Indiana is already home to numerous rehab hospitals, including Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (a collaboration between Indiana University Health and Ascension St. Vincent), Community Rehabilitation Hospital North, Franciscan Health Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Indianapolis.

Earlier this month, WB Development of Texas announced plans to build Indianapolis Rehabilitation Institute, a 40-bed facility on 4.79 acres of vacant land at 12315 Pennsylvania St. in Carmel.