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Encompass Health (EHC) Set to Boost South Carolina Footprint

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Encompass Health Corporation (EHC - Free Report) recently disclosed plans to build an inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Fort Mill, SC. The hospital, which will be named Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Fort Mill, will house 39 beds. To this effect, the company has received a certificate of need for constructing the hospital.

Shares of Encompass Health gained 0.3% on Mar 19.

By delving deeper into the Fort Mill area through advanced rehabilitative care, the latest move will make it easier for the healthcare provider to solve health issues of Fort Mill residents more effectively.

By offering physical, occupational and speech therapies, the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Fort Mill, once built, will pave way for faster recovery of patients suffering from debilitating illnesses and injuries. In addition to private patient rooms, the new hospital will be equipped with enhanced rehabilitation technologies. The establishment will comprise  well-versed medical teams in physical medicine, rehabilitation and other specialties, who are capable of treating a complex patient population. Also, nursing care will be provided for 24 hours at the hospital.

Moreover, the recent move reinforces Encompass Health’s continuous efforts to bolster its footprint across South Carolina. The company already boasts of a well-established presence across the state, with seven inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and three home-health and hospice locations providing clear-cut indication of the same. Apart from these, the company has one hospital under construction in another South Carolina city – Greenville, plans of which were laid down last year in January. Notably, it is likely to start treating patients from the summer of 2021.

Shares of Encompass Health have surged 61% in a year compared with the industry’s rally of 38.1%.

Furthermore, these expansion plans of the company can be referred to as time-opportune ones amid an aging U.S. population and innumerable health woes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare portfolio of Encompass Health has been continually growing. With a nationwide portfolio of 137 hospitals, 241 home-health hubs and 82 hospice centers across 39 states and Puerto Rico, the healthcare provider intends to offer affordable and high-quality rehabilitative care across every corner of the United States.

Encompass Health seems to be in no mood to slow down its expansion endeavors during 2021 – a strategy that it actively followed even last year. With the latest one being in South Carolina, the healthcare provider has introduced similar plans this year to construct inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in five other U.S. states of Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Florida and Texas. Through these initiatives, revenues of the company’s Inpatient Rehabilitation segment have been growing. Notably, this segment has been usually contributing the most to the company’s top-line growth. The trend continued during 2020 as well, wherein it accounted for around 77% of the company’s net operating revenues.

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the medical space include Select Medical Holdings Corporation (SEM - Free Report) , Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH - Free Report) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA - Free Report) . While Select Medical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Community Health and HCA Healthcare carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Select Medical, Community Health and HCA Healthcare have a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 242.41%, 120.75% and 58.50%, on average, respectively.

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