The Story of healthsouth

In 1984, A Year After Congress Had thrown traditional hospitals and medical centers into a tailspin by overhauling the way Medicare would pay them, a young, risk-taking entrepreneur named Richard Scrushy decided to start a new kind of healthcare company -- one that took rehabilitation out of the basements of hospitals and moved it into lively, positive settings that promoted wellness and healing. Scrushy reasoned that medical care could be provided at a much lower cost in a freestanding rehabilitation facility than in a high-overhead, acute care hospital. He sought to coordinate all aspects of rehabilitation, from social services to physical and occupational therapy services, under one roof. His plan proved to be more successful than he ever dreamed. The young company began to grow -- and grow quickly. After only 18 years, HealthSouth had expanded from one facility to more than 1,900 facilities in all 50 states, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. Moreover, it had become the nation's leading provider of ambulatory surgery, diagnostic imaging, and inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. Through it all, Scrushy recognized the importance of instilling a company culture that promoted teamwork and visionary thinking. Led by one of the finest management teams in the country, HealthSouth turned its vision of the future into reality and developed a superior model, one that let patients move smoothly through a logical healthcare system offering highly technical, lessinvasive, cost-effective procedures. The Story of HealthSouth, by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, brings to vivid life the fascinating history of HealthSouth, one of the most dynamic healthcare corporations in America.