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Encompass Health isn’t just a renowned institution in the eyes of the patients that it treats—those recovering from injuries, being cared for at home, or in need of hospice—but also from the perspective of the healthcare industry at large. Fortune named Encompass one of 2021’s “Most Admired Companies” across 52 industries.
The integrated healthcare system earned $4.7 billion in revenue and treated over 364,000 patients in 2019 alone. Today, it has more than 150 hospitals, 252 home health locations, and 99 hospice locations across the country, and it has no plans to stop growing. Tom Boyle, chief design and construction officer at Encompass, shares that plans for a new campus and expansion in Texas are underway.
Boyle has an extensive history in project management and healthcare, having garnered experience at firms like JE Dunn Construction, HCA Healthcare, and Doster Construction before coming to Encompass in 2020—just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Boyle had the unique experience of taking on a construction role remotely, which he says was probably his greatest challenge from a communication standpoint, leading him to take a multidisciplinary approach to streamlining information among stakeholders.
Encompass is a highly process-driven company and Boyle ensures he’s able to effectively handle things like capital planning, budgeting, and designing by tailoring each line of communication to target the relevant stakeholder. Juggling ceiling and medical equipment suppliers, electrical contractors, and civil engineers, transmitting details is a crucial part of Boyle’s role.
One of his most exciting projects is an upcoming 40-bed rehabilitation hospital in Prosper, Texas. It will include luxurious amenities, including private rooms, a technologically advanced therapy gym, a therapy courtyard, and daily living suite. Surrounded by golf courses, it will be a staple in one of the fastest growing communities in Texas.
Roughly 270 miles south will be a 60-bed inpatient hospital in Houston. Its intention is to help patients with debilitating illness and injuries (such as neurological disorders, amputations, and orthopedic conditions) and provide around-the-clock nursing care and restorative therapies.
Encompass Health’s president of the southwest region, Frank Brown, said in a press statement that he is looking forward to the healthcare system’s growth. “Through the new inpatient rehabilitation hospital, we will provide our patients with coordinated and connected care that meets them where they are in their healthcare journeys and makes a positive difference in their lives,” he added.
That difference isn’t simply reflected in the numbers—it’s also made evident by the patients themselves. In 2022, Milton White celebrated his 35th wedding anniversary with his wife Grace, a milestone made possible by Encompass Health. White was admitted to the healthcare system’s rehabilitation hospital in New Jersey after experiencing a stroke, which impacted both his memory and mobility.
But his determination to overcome his challenges—and dance with Grace to her favorite song (“Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton) on their anniversary—inspired the Encompass staff.
White’s physical therapy assistant, Trish Clark, guided him as he reached new levels of stamina and regained his ability to walk and exercise. White returned home after a three-week stay, and while his caregivers were delighted to see him get well, they admitted they would miss his humor. But White offered them a thank you in the form of a poem.
“Thank God for Encompass Health, for all you do,” the poem’s last line reads. “I’m doing better because of you.”
BLOX delivers healthcare buildings across the US using a design manufacture construct platform: a building delivery system replacing traditional design and construction with a manufactured approach that normalizes supply chains, increases speed to market, and improves quality.
