MURFREESBORO, TN – April 24, 2025 – Ascension Saint Thomas and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, have received state regulatory approval to move forward with plans to build a new 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Murfreesboro.

The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission granted the Certificate of Need for the facility, which will be located on Kennedy Drive, adjacent to the Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford hospital campus. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the hospital projected to open in 2027.

“This new rehabilitation hospital complements our advanced clinical programs and reflects our ongoing commitment to expanding access to comprehensive care throughout Middle Tennessee,” said Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas. “As Rutherford County continues to grow, so too does the need for specialized services closer to home.”

The Murfreesboro facility will be the second rehabilitation hospital operated through a joint venture between Ascension Saint Thomas and Lifepoint Rehabilitation. The two organizations currently operate the Ascension Saint Thomas Rehabilitation Hospital in Nashville.

David Stark, chief operating officer of Lifepoint Rehabilitation, added, “This decision by the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission is further affirmation of the community need for increased access to specialized rehabilitation care in central Tennessee. This facility will allow us to care for more medically complex patients locally, in a space specifically designed for healing and recovery.”

The hospital will offer intensive nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, and speech pathology services for adults recovering from conditions such as stroke, neurological disease, brain or spinal cord injury, and other complex illnesses or injuries. Lifepoint Rehabilitation will manage the day-to-day operations.

Ascension Saint Thomas, with more than 320 sites of care across Middle Tennessee, is the region’s leading faith-based, nonprofit health system. Lifepoint Rehabilitation, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, operates over 45 freestanding inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) nationwide and partners with major health systems to deliver high-quality, outcome-driven rehabilitation care.