US-based healthcare providers Emory Healthcare and Select Medical have formed a joint venture (JV) to enhance patient care services in Georgia.

Effective from 1 July 2014, the JV will work on providing teams of post-acute care specialists that will help patients recover in an appropriate setting, while offering more convenient locations for patients in Georgia.

As part of the collaboration, Emory’s Center for Rehabilitation Medicine has been renamed Emory Rehabilitation Hospital.

Emory Healthcare will have a majority ownership in this facility, which offers inpatient and outpatient services to patients suffering from stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, musculoskeletal problems and amputation.

Select Medical will provide management services to Emory Rehabilitation Hospital; however, staff at the hospital will remain Emory Healthcare employees.

Also under the deal, 23 outpatient clinics in the Atlanta area that operated as Select Physical Therapy have been renamed Emory Rehabilitation Outpatient Center. Select Medical will continue to manage these clinics, but staff will become Emory employees.

In another part of the JV, Select Medical will become the majority owner and manage three long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals in Atlanta, including Emory Wesley Woods Hospital on Clifton Road, which will operate as Select Specialty Hospital-Northeast Atlanta.

"By forming a synergistic partnership, we remain focused on high-quality outcomes for patients and their families."

Employees at this hospital will become Select Medical employees.

The other two long-term acute care hospitals included in the deal are Select Specialty Hospital in Atlanta and Regency Hospital in East Point.

Emory Healthcare president and CEO John T. Fox said the collaboration with Select Medical will enhance care for patients in the region.

"By forming a synergistic partnership, we remain focused on high-quality outcomes for patients and their families. Thank you to all of the team members who are helping to make this a smooth transition," Fox added.

Select Medical president and CEO David S. Chernow said: "We could not be more excited to put all this in place with a partner as well respected as Emory Healthcare."