HealthSouth is hoping to bring an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to the Interstate 65 corridor. With the hospital will come jobs — hopefully around 120 of them — and the economic benefits of bringing patients and families for long-term rehabilitation.

We fully support HealthSouth in their efforts, and hope they will enjoy a quick application process so they can begin building the hospital sooner rather than later. Once the application is approved and permission is granted, there will likely still be a two-year wait until the facility actually opens.

There are plenty of patients in Shelby County and Chilton County for whom such a facility would be a blessing. Currently, such patients might be driving all the way to the Lakeshore rehabilitation facility, which is quite a drive from the south end of Shelby County or from Chilton County.

Also, family participation in rehabilitation is so important to ensure the patient is comfortable and willing to continue with the often-tough rehabilitation process. A facility should be in as convenient a location as possible to allow family to be there as often as they can be.

This hospital will also be a boon for Alabaster’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center. With an inpatient rehabilitation facility close by, Shelby Baptist will be able to tell patients and their families that all they may need is available to them. That kind of peace of mind will be invaluable to families and will help the I-65 corridor grow even more popular.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.