LIBERTY — Mercy Health-Youngstown and Lifepoint Rehabilitation broke ground Thursday on an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. The new hospital is the result of a joint venture announced last year.

Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital will be at 3180 Belmont Ave. The 66,000-square-foot, two-story facility will have 60 beds, all private rooms, multi-disciplinary therapy gymnasiums outfitted with therapeutic technologies, outdoor courtyards and other spaces designed to help patients return to activities of daily living, according to a news release.

The facility will also feature a 12-bed secured brain injury unit with private dining and therapy gym, and will be structurally designed in all units for the needs of patients receiving acute inpatient rehabilitation care for stroke, traumatic brain injury, amputation and other injuries and disorders.

Lifepoint Rehabilitation is a business unit of Lifepoint Health.

On hand for the groundbreaking were Dr. John Luellen, president, Mercy Health-Youngstown and Lorain; Dave Stark, vice president of operations for Lifepoint Rehabilitation; and other Mercy Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation leaders.

“As the Mahoning Valley’s health care needs continue to evolve, Mercy Health is committed to responding and adapting to these ever-changing needs through new, enhanced points of care,” Luellen said.

“We are excited to bring a new acute, inpatient rehabilitation hospital to the Valley with our partners, Lifepoint Rehabilitation, so that we can continue providing high-quality, compassionate care to even more patients than we serve now. Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital will grow our ability to provide essential rehabilitation services and help us further our mission of bringing good help to those in need,” he said.

Upon completion, Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital will be operated

jointly by Mercy Health and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, and will join Lifepoint Rehabilitation’s network of more than 40 inpatient rehabilitation facilities across the country. The hospital is expected to open in late 2024.

“This is an exciting day for our team at Lifepoint Rehabilitation as we break ground on Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital,” said Stark. “Our ongoing partnership with Mercy Health will expand access to vitally needed specialty services available in the Mahoning Valley and throughout northeast Ohio. We share a commitment to providing high-quality, evidence-driven care, and I look forward to seeing all that we will continue to accomplish together on behalf of our patients and the communities we both serve.”