Florida Flooding Closes 90-Bed Rehab Hospital in Melbourne

Flooding on Florida’s east coast last week was so severe that it has caused the indefinite closure of a 90-bed rehabilitation hospital in Melbourne.

Sea Pines Rehabilitation Hospital, owned in part by Alabama-based Encompass Health, sustained substantial damage in the torrential rains that hammered parts of Florida’s east-central coastal areas with as much as 25 inches of rain in one day.

The 70,000-square-foot hospital was able to evacuate all patients before the floodwaters rose. Some were sent home, others went to other area hospitals.

“We are enormously grateful for the heroic efforts of our hospital staff and the first responders in ensuring the safety of our patients during this catastrophic weather event,” Pat Tuer, Encompass Health’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Sea Pines has served the greater Melbourne area for more than 40 years, and we are committed to restoring and enhancing our capacity to do so.”

He said that reopening Sea Pines is a high priority, but the company is discussing its options with its joint venture partner, Holmes Regional Medical Center, on the best path forward.

The hospital, on Florida Avenue in Melbourne, showed net operating revenue of $44 million for the first nine months of this year, said Encompass Health. The publicly traded company said it is the largest owner and operator of inpatient rehab hospitals in the country.

While the hospital is shut down, it will incur expenses for repairs and remediation, as well as some operating expenses. Encompass Health noted in the statement that these expenses are not indicative of the company’s overall operating performance and intends to exclude them, as well as any related insurance proceeds, from its adjusted financial results.

The three days of rain and flooding that shuttered the hospital, called a “1-in-1,000-year” event, also resulted in the deaths of two people in the area. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for seven counties.

Photo: (Facebook/Encompass Health)