Jan. 8, 2026 - Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of New England unveils 14 new private patient rooms, marking a significant step in enhancing patient comfort and care. This addition converts several semi-private rooms to completely private ones, offering patients greater privacy and peace of mind. Located on the garden level, the new rooms provide convenient access for admissions and discharges and are designed to support patients at higher risk of returning to an acute care hospital. This investment underscores Encompass Health New England's commitment to providing exceptional, patient-centered rehabilitation services.
“At Encompass Health New England, we serve patients after a life-changing illness or injury,” said David Coggins, CEO of Encompass Health New England. “We often have patients that begin their rehabilitation with us needing a higher level of medical care to help reduce their likelihood of returning to the acute care hospital.”
The 14 new rooms will expand Encompass Health New England's Reducing Acute Care Transfers (ReACT) unit, a specialized program launched in 2017 with just four beds. The ReACT unit uses Encompass Health Corp.'s proprietary predictive algorithm to identify patients at risk of returning to an acute care hospital. This advanced model continuously analyzes vast amounts of data from the Company's electronic medical records system, monitoring 30 key clinical indicators such as appetite changes, vital signs, Braden score, missed therapy and medications. Patients are categorized into three risk levels — low, high and very high — with updates provided to clinicians in near real time. When a patient's risk level rises, the system triggers an alert, enabling proactive interventions and enhanced care to help prevent unnecessary transfers.
“The expanded ReACT unit allows us to further meet the needs of patients who have high acute care transfer risk levels,” said Lauren Healey, senior human resources director for Encompass Health New England. “We have hired 20 additional staff members to serve this unit. It allows us to provide the type of focused, proactive care this specific patient population requires.”
Since the implementation of ReACT, the Company has seen a downward trend in the percentage of acute care transfers and an increase in the percentage of patients discharged back to their communities.
“The clinicians in our ReACT unit will be able to intervene before a patient gets sick and needs acute care again,” Coggins said. “I know our community will greatly benefit from this addition. It's another way we are committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care.”
Construction on the new ReACT unit began in March 2025. Encompass Health New England is a 137-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital providing advanced care to patients recovering from stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury and other complex neurological and orthopedic conditions.