Nation’s best rehabilitation hospital coming to Detroit, creating and supporting hundreds of jobs, building on the state’s leadership in healthcare    

LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after the Gilbert Family Foundation (GFF), Henry Ford Health, and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab announced a partnership to bring a 72-bed medicine and rehabilitation facility and hundreds of jobs to Detroit.   

“Bringing Shirley Ryan AbilityLab—the nation’s best rehabilitation hospital—to Detroit will improve health outcomes for Michiganders, support hundreds of good-paying jobs, and build on our leadership in health care and life sciences,” said Governor Whitmer. “I am grateful to the Gilbert Family Foundation, Henry Ford Health, and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab for their collaboration to get this done. This new rehabilitation facility will help people recover from debilitating injuries and illnesses, and the new research institute named in honor of the late Nick Gilbert will help find a cure for neurofibromatosis. Both of these initiatives will make Detroit a better place to live, work, and invest and make a real difference in the lives of countless Michiganders.”   

Background (found here) 

Chicago-based Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, recognized as the best rehabilitation hospital in the country for an unprecedented 33 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report, will work closely with Henry Ford Health to run the new facility, occupying three floors of the new Henry Ford Hospital patient tower planned for the corner of West Grand Boulevard and the John C. Lodge Freeway. It is expected to open in 2029. The GFF will also establish a $10 million fund to increase access to rehabilitation care for low-income Detroit residents who have limited or no insurance coverage. Henry Ford Health will also partner with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to bring its expertise to other Henry Ford facilities, including its Macomb and Wyandotte Hospitals, where Henry Ford currently has inpatient rehabilitation facilities.   

The GFF also announced—in partnership with Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences—the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute, bringing more cutting-edge medical research to Detroit. Dan and Jennifer Gilbert's late son Nick was diagnosed with NF1 as a child. Throughout his life, Nick championed neurofibromatosis awareness and advocated for research into the disease. The GFF and sister nonprofit NF Forward have invested nearly $100 million into research to find a cure.    

The construction and operation of AbilityLab and the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute will cost an estimated $439 million over 10 years. GFF will contribute nearly $375 million in grant funding out of the total estimated project cost of $439 million.  

As part of Henry Ford Health’s planned expansion in Detroit, Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University are planning to build a new midrise at Third and Amsterdam streets (left), while Henry Ford Health is planning a new glass tower at the southwest corner of W. Grand Boulevard and the Lodge Freeway (right). // Rendering courtesy of Gilbert Family Foundation

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