Apollo Education And Genesis HealthCare To Develop Rehabilitation Therapy Training In China

Genesis Rehab Services (GRS), one of the nation's largest providers of rehabilitation services and a division of Genesis HealthCare

, today announced it has joined forces with Apollo Education Group, Inc.

to develop scalable rehabilitation therapy training programs in China. The programs are designed to prepare aspiring health care professionals to meet China's growing therapy needs as the second largest health care market in the world. "China's health care needs are expanding at an astonishing rate, and workforce training opportunities must keep pace with that growth," states George V. Hager Jr., chief executive officer of Genesis HealthCare. "Apollo Education Group develops quality training programs that meet employer needs and leverages technology to innovate, which improves teaching and learning for employees. We believe their support in executing our talent development programs in China will allow GRS to excel at training the next generation of preventive health care leaders." In 2012, the Chinese Ministry of Health identified a significant shortage of rehab therapists to meet the needs of Chinese families and communities across the nation. They cited a deficit of at least 300,000 professionals compared to international standards[1]. GRS and Apollo Education Group look forward to helping narrow that gap with professional, trained therapists across the country. To address China's growing health care need, GRS opened a first-of-its-kind GRS Health Services Vitality Center in 2014 in Guangzhou, China, and introduced the people of China to the Western model of disease prevention, disease management, wellness, and rehabilitation care—including physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapy. Its second Vitality Center opened in December in Hong Kong, and a third opening is planned for March. GRS has future Vitality Centers in various stages of planning and development. "GRS is leading a global charge to deliver world class health services to the people of China, and Apollo Education Group is uniquely positioned to support the training programs that will train their future workforce," said Mitch Bowling, chief operating officer of Apollo Education Group, Inc. "Our expertise is in developing professional development and training programs that meet the needs of major employers. Our innovative approach to delivering curriculum through digital platforms allows Apollo Education Group to seamlessly complement GRS' work to develop a highly-skilled health care workforce in China." GRS will work with Apollo Education Group to convert existing rigorous content and traditional classroom-delivered lectures and activities into engaging online training experiences and inter-professional content. The newly created comprehensive training will reduce the amount of time participants spend in training and increase how quickly they become proficient with the content. In addition to its online learning academy and its Vitality Centers, GRS-HS has expanded its other business lines over the past year to include hospital-based inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services as well as facility-based transitional care rehab hospitals called Spring of Power Centers. In May 2015, the GRS hospital division entered into a joint venture with Zhejiang Bang Er Medical Investment Management Co, LTD to provide inpatient and outpatient rehab services in their current 14 Zhejiang Bang Er orthopedic hospitals. This venture, the GRS-Bang Er Rehab Services Limited Company (GRS-Bang Er), opened its first location on Oct. 1, 2015, in the 150-bed Yuhang hospital. GRS-Bang Er plans to open hospital-based locations in Jiaxing and Jiangshan in January 2016; in Wuhu in February 2016; and in Yuyao in May 2016. The other existing nine Zhejiang Bang Er orthopedic hospitals are in various stages of planning and development for integrating rehabilitation locations, and GRS-Bang Er will open in these hospitals by the end of the third quarter 2016. GRS is also in negotiations with other private and government hospitals to bring additional inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services to patients. These hospitals range in size from 150 to 1,000 beds. For more information about GRS and Apollo Education Group, please visit www.genesisrehab.com and www.apollo.edu.