Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health System and Select Medical plan to open rehabilitation hospital

Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health System and Select Medical today announced a partnership to create a 138-bed acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital located in the former Century City Hospital. 

With an expected opening in late 2015, the new hospital will serve the growing needs of the community for inpatient rehabilitation and is also expected to serve as a center for treating complex rehabilitation cases from around the nation. 
The vision of the joint venture, an LLC partnership among the parties, is to develop a world-class regional rehabilitation center providing highly specialized care, advanced treatment and leading-edge technologies to treat individuals with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, amputations, neurological disorders, and musculoskeletal and orthopedic conditions.

Currently, both Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Health System provide acute inpatient rehabilitation services at their respective facilities. Both of these facilities are usually full, as capacity is limited (28 beds at Cedars-Sinai and 11 beds at UCLA). When the new hospital opens, Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Health System would transition their acute inpatient rehabilitation services to the facility.

The new facility will be operated by Select Medical, a leading provider of long-term acute care services with hospital and outpatient locations in 44 states, including the renowned Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey. Select Medical has partnered with a number of academic medical centers, including Baylor Health Care System and Penn State Hershey, to manage and operate similar rehabilitation hospitals.

"As one of the most highly respected academic medical centers and health systems in the world, UCLA is delighted to join forces and share expertise with Cedars-Sinai and Select Medical, a preeminent provider of post-acute care in the United States," said Dr. David T. Feinberg, president of UCLA Health System, CEO of the UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor for health sciences at UCLA. "The addition of this rehabilitation facility will be of extraordinary benefit to the people of Los Angeles." 

"This exciting project is a natural progression of Cedars-Sinai's mission to provide the highest level of patient care while supporting medical innovation," said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Health System. "Meeting the health needs of the community, state and nation often requires a new type of partnership, and we look forward to working with UCLA Health System and Select Medical to create a highly advanced, comprehensive rehabilitation center for patients." 

"UCLA Health System and Cedars-Sinai are two pillars in medicine, and we are honored to work with them," said David S. Chernow, president of Select Medical. "We are also grateful to the property owner for sharing the vision to make this happen for California."

"I have owned this property for more than 40 years, and I am delighted to lease it in a way that creates such a great partnership," said David Wilstein, president and chairman of the Realtech Group. "Together, our foresight and ability to put this together will create a unique and meaningful contribution to the area for decades to come. This property will be used to introduce some of the nation's best medical rehabilitation programs, right in our backyard."

Earlier this year, a feasibility study found that appropriate seismic retrofitting would enable the former Century City Hospital facility to meet seismic safety standards and all necessary licensure requirements to be operated as a rehabilitation hospital. The building's current owner has begun infrastructure and modernization work to bring the building up to standards. The preparation work will be completed in 2015 and will allow building occupancy until 2030. 

Select Medical helps improve quality of life for approximately 30,000 patients in a typical day, making it one of the nation's largest providers of specialized acute and post-acute care. Select Medical's network of nearly 31,000 employees operates or supports more than 100 hospitals specializing in long-term acute care, 15 medical rehabilitation hospitals and nearly 1,000 outpatient clinics offering physical and occupational therapy. In addition, Select Medical offers contract therapy services at more than 500 locations. It also offers physical therapy and/or athletic training to approximately 300 high schools, colleges and professional sports teams. 

Cedars-Sinai is internationally renowned for its diagnostic and treatment capabilities and its broad spectrum of programs and services, as well as advances in biomedical research and innovative medical education programs. For over 20 years, Los Angeles-area residents have named Cedars-Sinai the "Most Preferred Hospital for All Health Needs" in the National Research Corporation's annual Market Insights survey. Cedars-Sinai Medical Group and Cedars-Sinai Health Associates are both ranked among the top 10 physician groups in Southern California by Integrated Health Care Associates (IHA), a California leadership group of health plans, physician groups and health systems. For expert help in choosing the right physician or to learn more about our premier programs and services, call, anytime, 1-800-CEDARS-1 (1-800-233-2771). 

UCLA Health System has for more than half a century provided the best in health care and the latest in medical technology to the people of Los Angeles and the world. Comprising Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center; UCLA Health - Santa Monica Medical Center; the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA; UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital; and the UCLA Medical Group, UCLA Health, with its wide-reaching system of primary care and specialty care offices throughout the region, is among the most comprehensive and advanced health care systems in the world. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. For information about clinical programs or help in choosing a personal physician, call 800-UCLA-MD1 or visit www.uclahealth.org.