UVA snuggles up to HealthSouth

The UVA Medical Center is planning to create a new long-term acute care hospital somewhere in Albemarle County. The venture will be a 50/50 partnership with Alabama-based HealthSouth Corporation, one of the largest health care service providers in the United States. The new 40-bed facility will serve the clinical needs of acute patients who require care for more than 25 days. The purpose is to consolidate such patients in one location with physicians and nurses who specialize in long-term acute care.
    The Medical Center is no stranger to private partnerships—it already has several, including an existing 50/50 joint venture with HealthSouth called UVA-HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, a 50-bed inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation center at Fontaine Research Park launched in 1998. Although HealthSouth has recently been rocked by scandal, UVA appears confidant the corporate giant has successfully cleansed its tarnished past.
    In 2003, HealthSouth found itself mired in a $1.4 billion accounting fraud scandal, along with several class-action securities lawsuits. These troubles eventually led to a complete overhaul of the company’s senior management team and board of directors, followed by a $100 million civil settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Former HealthSouth CEO Richard M. Scrushy, who was acquitted in the fraud case (in a surprising blow to federal prosecutors), was convicted earlier this summer of bribing former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman for a seat on that state’s health care board.
    Despite HealthSouth’s recent history, Peter Jump, public relations director at the UVA Health System, says, “Our [current] partnership with HealthSouth has been very successful in providing care for patients that need physical rehabilitation services. Based on our experience, we have tremendous confidence that our [new] partnership will benefit long-term acute care patients.” Pending negotiation and final approval of the deal by UVA and regulatory authorities, Jump expects the new hospital to open sometime in 2008.