Who’s behind the company building a $42 million rehab hospital in Daytona Beach?

With a wave of retirees and a booming population in Daytona Beach, there’s expected to be a need among the city’s nearly 80,000 residents for specialized medical care that's essential for recovery from a debilitating stroke, spinal cord injury, amputation or other serious conditions.

To meet that need, Encompass Health Corporation, the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, is moving ahead with plans to build a 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Daytona Beach.

Here’s what to know about the hospital development project and the company behind it:

What are they building and where will it be?

Encompass, an affiliate of Martin Health, plans to construct a 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital on an 8.8-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Williamson Boulevard and Strickland Range Road. The facility will be called Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Daytona Beach.

In case you missed it: New $42 million Daytona rehab hospital could get up to $1.5 million in property tax relief

The 50,000-square-foot hospital will provide physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy after life-changing injuries and illnesses to help patients regain their independence.

The rehab hospital will complement acute care in local hospitals, and it will offer an alternative to other inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Volusia County: The 40-bed Brooks Rehabilitation Center at Halifax Health Medical Center and the 32-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Center at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

How much will the company invest? How many jobs will it bring?

The Alabama-based company estimates it will spend $42 million on the new center, which includes $4.5 million to purchase the land, $33 million to construct the new building and $5 million to buy equipment.

Encompass Health states that it will create 98 fulltime positions at the Daytona hospital by the end of its third year of operation. The jobs will include highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians, and the staff will have an average annual salary of $65,000.

Is Encompass getting a tax break? How big?

In exchange for its investment, Encompass will receive city property tax breaks of up to $300,000 per year during its first five years of operation if it creates the number of jobs outlined in an agreement approved in June by Daytona Beach city commissioners.

The five-year incentive agreement calls for the company to create at least 54 fulltime positions in its first year, and then scale up to a total of 79 fulltime employees by the second year, and 98 by the third year.

To keep receiving the tax breaks, Encompass will have to maintain a minimum of 98 fulltime employees in its fourth and fifth years.

The average annual salary for the full-time employees must also remain at or above $65,000.

If all those goals are met, Encompass will get 100% of its city property taxes reimbursed in the first and second years, 75% in the third and fourth years, and 50% in the fifth year.

Is Encompass Health a public company? How big is it?

With a national footprint that includes 158 hospitals in 37 states and Puerto Rico, Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States.

The company specializes in high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments, according to a news release. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For and Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

Does Encompass Health accept Medicare and Medicaid?

Yes, Encompass Health accepts Medicare and Medicaid for services that include medical care, skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and residential care.

What is the company's history?

Founded in 1984, the company that’s now Encompass Health was formerly known as HealthSouth, a name that was changed to Encompass Health in 2018. It’s the nation's leading owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals.

At the time, the name change was touted by company executives as a way to reflect HealthSouth’s expanding national footprint. In the early 2000s, that growth continued even as the company endured scandal tied to its former CEO Richard Scrushy.

At its height in 2003, the company reported $4.5 billion in revenue, but that was the same year then-CEO Scrushy was indicted for accounting fraud according to a company history recounted by the news site AL.com.

In 2005, Scrushy was acquitted on all charges but later convicted in another case of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud. He was released in 2012. He hasn’t been connected with the company since the scandal.

After Scrushy's fall, the company avoided bankruptcy, sold off Surgical Care Affiliates and returned to the NYSE listings. By 2007, HealthSouth settled all the outstanding litigation and paid all its settlements.

The company then began an aggressive growth strategy that led to more than 40 acquisitions, including the $730 million purchase of Reliant Hospital Partners and $170 million purchase of Georgia's CareSouth. Jay Grinney, the CEO who led the company successfully through the turmoil, retired in 2016.

When will the Encompass Daytona hospital be completed?

Based on the June agreement, construction is expected to start in about four or five months, and it's required to be complete by Dec. 31, 2025. It's anticipated the first city property tax grant will be paid in 2027.

Encompass will report its job and salary figures to the city manager every year, complete with a signed affidavit from the company's human resources director or payroll director detailing the jobs and salaries at the Daytona site.

If the city suspects anything is amiss, it can hire an independent third-party auditor. If the city ever determines any figures were reported incorrectly, it could demand the waived property taxes be paid under a clawback provision in the contract.

The agreement would allow the city to reduce the next year's property tax break by $500 for each employee falsely reported to exist.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What we know about Encompass Health rehab hospital in Daytona Beach