Proposal for $69.5 million rehabilitation hospital heads to Branford planners

Encompass Health’s proposal for a $69.5 million inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Branford is moving into local zoning review, even as the company still awaits a state health decision needed before construction can begin.

The Branford Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider the application at a remote special meeting on June 23 at 7 p.m. The plan calls for an 80-bed hospital on the former Hilltop Orchard property at 596, 612 and 616 E. Main St.

The project would be built in two phases. Filed plans describe an initial 50-bed facility, with a later 30-bed expansion that would bring the total to 80 beds. The proposed building would be a 54,765-square-foot, single-story facility, and the later phase would add a 900-square-foot gymnasium.

State approval still pending

Encompass has also applied to the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy for a Certificate of Need, the state approval required for the project to proceed. The agency held a hearing on the application in Hartford on April 16, but had not issued a decision as of June 13.

That makes the June 23 planning review an important step, but not the final one. Even if Branford planners support the proposal, the company still needs state approval before it can break ground.

Support and opposition

Branford First Selectman Josh Brooks and other local officials backed the proposal at the state hearing. They argued that shoreline residents need closer access to inpatient rehabilitation care and that the region’s aging population will continue to drive demand.

The proposal has also drawn opposition from Gaylord Specialty Healthcare and Hospital for Special Care. Those providers warned that a new for-profit rehab hospital could intensify competition for nurses and other clinical staff in Connecticut and affect the broader rehab market.

Encompass says in its zoning application that it does not provide drug or alcohol rehabilitation services, narrowing the project to inpatient rehabilitation care.

What happens next

The June 23 meeting will be the next public test for the project in Branford. After that, the proposal remains dependent on the Office of Health Strategy’s decision on the Certificate of Need.

If both approvals move forward, the project could advance toward construction and a phased expansion from 50 beds to 80 beds. For now, the proposal is in review at both the local and state levels.