Triumph HealthCare merges with rehab provider

J.R. Ortega

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- What does long-term acute care mean?

Patients who need acute medical care because of severe or complex conditions that prevents them from being accepted at a rehabilitation hospital are sent to long-term acute care hospitals like Triumph.

Patients can range from people with pre-existing conditions which make treatment more complicated to patients who require ongoing intensive nursing care.

Triumph HealthCare, the nation's third largest provider of long-term acute care will merge with RehabCare Group (NYSE:RHB) , a provider of rehabilitation and management services in post-acute care.

Victoria's Triumph hospital will continue to operate as before, said Tanya Snodgrass, vice president of professional relations.

The deal is expected to close around Dec. 1, however hopes are to close before Thanksgiving Snodgrass said.

"We have always been looking at growth and opportunities," Snodgrass said. "It's a wonderful opportunity to merge with their services."

RehabCare has seven long-term care hospitals and Triumph has 20, with two in progress, Snodgrass said.

After the merger, the combined organization will operate 29 such hospitals and six inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

Triumph will continue to operate under the same name, she added.

Tammy Barben, the chief executive officer for the Victoria Triumph location, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

"I want to reassure all the health care communities that we serve, that it will be business as usual and the high quality care that we do now," Snodgrass said.

Triumph Hospitals has roughly 3,800 employees. Merging with RehabCare will add about 13,000 more employees, she said.

The merger will add some additional depth and speed up the growth of the hospital, she said.

"Being able to be part of a larger continuum of health care, strengthens us," she said.

It seems there will be benefits across the board because of the merger, said Stacy Lupo, assistant vice president of marketing and communications at RehabCare.

"Triumph hospitals will benefit from clinical synergies with our other post-acute services in the area, our 27 years experience in the industry, a deep network of resources and our state-of-the-art technology platforms," she said. "We will, in turn, benefit from their efficient and effective acute care services."

The idea for the merger had been tossed around for a couple of months, Snodgrass said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0211-39477388