US-based Select Medical has entered a membership interest purchase agreement with Ballad Health to jointly manage the critical illness recovery hospital, Select Specialty Hospital – Tri-Cities, in Kingsport, Tennessee.

The partnership aims to enhance post-acute care in the region.

Select Medical will become the majority owner and managing partner of the joint venture (JV) facility, which will operate as a hospital-in-hospital.

Currently under Select Medical's ownership and located at Ballad Health’s Bristol Regional Medical Centre, the 46-bed facility is set to move to Indian Path Community Hospital after receiving regulatory approval.

The hospital is licensed as a long-term acute care facility.

Select Medical president Tom Mullin said: “We have served the growing post-ICU care needs of the region for more than 25 years, operating as Select Specialty Hospital – Tri-Cities in Bristol.

“This partnership with Ballad Health and the new, expanded location will provide the opportunity to help even more critically ill patients heal, recover and return to their families and community.”

Moving the Kingsport hospital is a strategic move by Ballad Health to better integrate services within its health system.

The relocation is designed to ensure that patients have access to specialised care near where they live.

Ballad Health executive vice-president and chief administrative officer Marvin Eichorn said: “By relocating Select Specialty Hospital – Tri-Cities to Indian Path Community Hospital, we are expanding access to critical illness recovery services in a way that is both patient-centred and operationally efficient.”

Select Medical operates six other critical illness recovery hospitals in Tennessee, including locations in Knoxville, Jackson, Memphis, Nashville, and Powell.

Select Medical formed a JV with SSM Health in October last year to establish and manage the 50-bed SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital – Oklahoma City.