Wichita hospital employees get a surprising Monday morning e-mail

In October, The Eagle reported that Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital, an affiliate of Encompass Health, is closing this spring.

That’s supposed to be this week, which made an early Monday morning e-mail from CEO Susan Hart so surprising.

“I have learned that a Vibra plans to re-open our hospital following our closure,” Hart wrote.

She declined to comment when called by an Eagle reporter, but the Vibra Hart references appears to be Vibra Healthcare, a Pennsylvania-based company.

When phoned by an Eagle reporter, a representative for Vibra replied via text and said, “We are not ready for any public comment at this time.”

All Wesley Rehabilitation patients are already gone, and it sounds like most employees have already found new jobs.

“I can imagine that the timing of this message could be frustrating,” Hart wrote in her note. “I apologize for this and the difficulty that you have faced overall.”

The longtime facility, which is on West 13th Street between Ridge Road and Tyler, is an in-patient rehabilitation hospital that treats people with acute issues and has the goal of sending them home fairly quickly. The average stay is about 11 or 12 days.

Hart told employees that she didn’t know details about Vibra but would keep them informed.

“I will be working on getting as many specifics that I can this week. Their representatives plan to be onsite Tuesday (tomorrow).”

Hart told employees that she anticipates Vibra likely will be interested in meeting with them to discuss future employment.

“I plan to work with these individuals to ensure what is best for our community, which is continued inpatient rehabilitation.”

Look for more information as it is available.

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 11:24 AM.