SOUTH POINT — ClearSky Health, a premier rehabilitative health care provider, has announced plans to build a new 30-bed medical rehabilitation hospital in South Point.

The company currently owns and operates five hospitals in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, with plans to open new facilities in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Wisconsin and additional Texas locations.

ClearSky Rehabilitation Hospital of South Point will provide specialized rehabilitative care to about 650 patients annually who live with disabling injuries or illnesses such as strokes, brain injuries, hip fractures, spinal injuries, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or other medically-complex conditions such as COVID-19.

South Point Mayor Jeff Gaskin said the new hospital will be located on Commerce Avenue, across from the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

Darby Brockette, CEO of ClearSky Health, says the organization selected the South Point location so it could serve patients in the Ashland, Kentucky and Huntington, West Virginia markets as well.

“The location is accessible and convenient to the Tri-State area,” Brockette says. “It allows us to treat patients referred from acute care facilities in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, fulfilling an unmet need for a higher level of rehabilitative care.”

“ClearSky Health worked with the area’s medical and community leadership in choosing South Point,” Dr. Bill Dingus, executive director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, said. “The project is assisted by some road and utility infrastructure improvements. It will complement existing healthcare services in the Tri-State area, while providing about 100 new healthcare-related jobs. We’re pleased to welcome ClearSky Health to our community.”

Brockette says the hospital’s highly trained team, specialized equipment, dedicated facility and integrative approach to care will set its services apart from other rehabilitative settings.

The company said as a medical rehabilitation hospital, ClearSky South Point will:

• Be licensed and accredited

• Use an interdisciplinary team approach to care

• Have a physician with specialized training in rehabilitation supervise medical services

• Provide rehabilitative nursing 24/7

• Offer patients therapy for a minimum of 15 hours a week

Further benefits are reflected in a national study that shows patients who receive care at medical rehabilitation hospitals return home sooner, remain home longer, have fewer hospital readmissions and ER visits and live longer, versus those treated at nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities.

The new 40,000-square-foot building will feature all private rooms, a rehabilitative gym with specialized equipment, a dining room with a dedicated chef and food service staff and an activity of daily living space to allow patients to receive therapy in rooms that emulate home conditions.

Patients will interact and set individual goals with an interdisciplinary team that includes a physician; rehabilitation nurses; physical, occupational and speech therapists; case managers; respiratory therapists; dietitians; and other healthcare professionals.

“We’ll go above and beyond normal service expectations to provide patients with optimum outcomes for their recoveries,” Brockette says. He cites the hospital’s comprehensive stroke rehabilitation program as an example. The program will include review of 228 evidence-based recommendations from the American Stroke Association. Nursing and therapy personnel will be specifically educated in stroke rehabilitation techniques and modalities. They will review every recommendation and apply the ones that fit the individual needs of each patient.

“The depth and knowledge of the program will provide patients with the highest standards of care, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to new research and evidence as it occurs,” Brockette said.

Another unique aspect of care that will be provided at the hospital is the continued involvement in a patient’s treatment. Members of the healthcare team will work with patients after they leave the hospital to ensure they receive the resources needed to reach the highest levels of independence and success during their recoveries.

Groundbreaking for the hospital is planned for later this year, with an opening scheduled for Fall 2023.