AdventHealth Waterman project to nearly double size of this unit

The 298-bed AdventHealth Waterman will spend $3 million to nearly double the capacity in its Inpatient Rehabilitation Center.

The Altamonte Springs-based nonprofit health system's unit, which focuses on patients recovering from conditions like strokes, heart attacks, loss of a limb or spinal cord injuries, will grow from 12 to 22 beds.

AdventHealth first opened the 12-bed unit in 2020 with room to expand. It operated at full capacity through most of last year.

"The patients who come to our inpatient rehab have had a major event," Dr. Kami Strong, medical director of inpatient rehabilitation services at AdventHealth Waterman, said in a prepared statement. "They've had an incident that has drastically changed their life, as well as their loved ones. Keeping them close to home, where family can attend therapy sessions and continue to provide them with needed support, is essential to help them recover.”

AdventHealth plans to complete the unit this summer. An exact number of employees that will be added was not immediately available.

Besides the private beds, the unit has a 100-foot-long Vector Gait Bioness track system, which allows patients to walk without falling. It also has environments that simulate rooms in a house, such as a laundry area and a kitchen, for recovering people.

The Orlando office of Robins & Morton is building out the expanded space, which will leave the hospital with 144 inpatient rehab beds across four Florida hospitals at AdventHealth Daytona Beach, AdventHealth Tampa, AdventHealth Waterman and AdventHealth Winter Park. AdventHealth Waterman will grow to 310 total beds.

Other inpatient rehab providers also have expanded into the region, due to the growing number of older residents in the region who often need the service.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) has existing hospitals in Clermont and Altamonte Springs, with 50-bed hospitals expected to open in Kissimmee this spring and in Daytona Beach next year.

Douglas E. Coltharp, chief financial officer and executive vice president for Encompass, said during a Feb. 8 earnings call that inpatient rehab services are underserved and expected to see growing demand due to the aging population.

AdventHealth has more than 35,938 employees in Central Florida, making it the region's second-largest employer, based on OBJ research.

Founded in 1908, AdventHealth's Central Florida division includes more than 20 hospitals and ERs in the seven-county area in and around Orlando. Its hospitals and other outpatient services have more than 5.7 million patient visits annually. Nationally, the organization has more than $16 billion in annual operating revenue.

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