By Shereen Siewert
A Pennsylvania-based medical services provider is proposing a $25 million inpatient rehabilitation hospital on Wausau’s west side, city officials announced Thursday.
Post Acute Medical, along with Astrea Development, of Texas, are proposing the 42-bed, 50,000-square-foot facility. The two-story hospital would support about 125 full-time, skilled care medical jobs, with an additional 160 jobs during the construction phase, according to a city of Wausau news release.
The hospital will feature a physician-led team of rehabilitation experts focused on a common goal of increasing patient strength and endurance and improving quality of life for patients who have experienced stroke, brain injury, neurological disease and deficits, amputations, pulmonary disease, orthopedic conditions, spinal cord injury and medically complex conditions, officials said. The rehabilitation services offered through Post Acute Medical are intended to complement and help expand the surgical expertise already in the community by providing support in patient recovery.
Post Acute Medical provides post-acute health care services through more than 40 rehabilitation hospitals in 12 states and offers comprehensive care for rehabilitation patients with complex conditions.
Wausau’s Community Development Department worked with Post Acute Medical and Astrea Development to assess the market potential for the facility and identify local resources for skilled nursing training and development, officials said.
“I am thrilled to welcome Post Acute Medical to the city of Wausau,” Mayor Katie Rosenberg said, in Thursday’s release. “The entire region will benefit from their quality patient care and the state-of -the-art hospital facilities developed by Astrea Development.”
Rosenberg said Wausau is already a leading medical services destination in the state. Adding a new rehabilitative hospital is expected to complement and grow Wausau’s local health care services, economy and workforce, she said.
Astrea Development is still evaluating potential sites for the new hospital. The organization will outline a more firm construction and operational timeline after closing on the property chosen.
