Movement Hospital
| Interdisciplinary ambulatory healthcare model | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded 📆 | 2021 |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , United States |
Area served 🗺️ | Global |
Key people | Clinical directors, physiologists, health scientists |
| Products 📟 | Orthopedic rehabilitation, human performance medicine, applied science integration |
| Services | Ambulatory healthcare, sports science, clinical exercise physiology |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | [Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
See also: Whole-person healthcare, Ambulatory medicine, Human performance science.
A Movement Hospital is an interdisciplinary ambulatory healthcare facility that combines orthopedic rehabilitation, applied science, and human performance medicine within a hospital outpatient framework. The model bridges the gap between traditional hospital-based care and preventive, functional, and performance medicine by integrating evidence-based clinical sciences with data-driven human performance technologies.
The term Movement Hospital emerged in the early 2020s to describe a 21st-century healthcare model designed to restore, maintain, and optimize physiological movement, metabolic health, and functional performance through multidisciplinary coordination.[1][2]
The first Movement Hospital was conceptualized in 2021 in San Diego County, California, with a flagship facility in La Jolla opening to the public on January 1, 2025.
Etymology and conceptual foundations
The Movement Hospital model draws from osteopathic principles, whole-person healthcare, and the Institute of Medicine’s report, Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), which called for redesign emphasizing safety, efficiency, and patient-centeredness.[1] It aligns with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Workforce Strategic Plan 2022–2031, emphasizing interprofessional collaboration, data integration, and preventive care delivery.[2]
The concept integrates features of the Beveridge and Bismarck payer models, drawing on hybrid frameworks used in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand to reduce payer bias and improve equitable access to care.[3]
Historical context
From 2000 to 2020, rising chronic disease prevalence, overreliance on surgical and pharmaceutical interventions, and fragmented post-acute rehabilitation created a gap between hospital care and long-term functional recovery. Movement Hospitals are proposed in response to these deficiencies, offering interdisciplinary, data-informed care integrating musculoskeletal, metabolic, and behavioral sciences. The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) framework under the Affordable Care Act supported community-based coordination to address the continuum of care before and after medical intervention.[4][5][6]
First Movement Hospital
The first Movement Hospital was established in San Diego County, California, as a clinical and research-based facility uniting orthopedic functional rehabilitation, sports science, and human performance. It operates within an ambulatory structure designed to mirror regulatory and safety protocols of hospital outpatient departments, enabling multidisciplinary care typically associated with hospital settings in a more accessible, preventive environment.
Mission and objectives
Movement Hospitals aim to improve outcomes while reducing costs to payers and consumers by emphasizing whole-person function, prevention, and interdisciplinary rehabilitation. The model prioritizes accessible services for underserved populations without payer or diagnostic bias, addressing inequities linked to over-medication, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity. Foundations include data-driven osteopathic and whole-person principles focused on restoring vital physiological functions.
Institutions serve as platforms for job creation across allied health, public health, health administration, medical science, and rehabilitation fields, encouraging interprofessional collaboration among clinical exercise physiologists, physical therapists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, nurses, nutrition professionals, behavioral health practitioners, and physicians.[2]
Clinical services and modalities
Movement Hospitals provide integrated clinical and applied services spanning medical, rehabilitative, and performance domains. Typical services include orthopedic and functional rehabilitation, physical therapy (physiotherapy), sports medicine, chiropractic care, massage therapy and manual techniques, integrative health, clinical exercise physiology, nutritional prescription with food-preparation education, IV hydration and nutrient therapies, metabolic conditioning, and holistic pharmacy.
Advanced recovery and performance technologies may include whole-body electromyostimulation (EMS), cryotherapy, pneumatic compression, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Research infrastructure commonly includes isokinetic dynamometry, gait and motion analysis, bioelectrical impedance, VO₂ metabolic testing, creatine kinase (CK) response analysis, impedance myography, microgravity or load-variance assessments, blood lactate testing, and vascular occlusion (BFR) training, alongside cardiometabolic monitoring and psychophysiological evaluation to study interactions among cardiovascular function, metabolism, emotional regulation, and cognitive performance.
Oversight is typically provided by doctoral- or master’s-level professionals trained, licensed, and/or credentialed in areas such as clinical exercise physiology, osteopathic or integrative medicine, rehabilitation sciences, or human performance management. Leadership roles are generally held by individuals that hold terminal degrees in and are trained, licensed, and/or credentialed in healthcare administration, human performance science, or clinical health science, ensuring evidence-based integration across disciplines. Executive Leadership roles are generally held by individuals trained in health science, medical science, healthcare administration, public health, medicine, or clinical health science, ensuring evidence-based integration across disciplines.[7][8]
Economic and workforce impact
Movement Hospitals contribute to workforce development and employment across allied health, public health, health administration, medical science, and human performance fields. The model supports objectives in the HHS Health Workforce Strategic Plan 2022–2031, including interprofessional education, clinical research capacity, and data-driven practice expansion.[2]
Influence of education and research
The Movement Hospital model is informed by academic programs and professional associations that promote interdisciplinary and applied health science education, including A.T. Still University (e.g., Doctor of Health Science), the University of St. Augustine, Point Loma Nazarene University, Nova Southeastern University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Purdue Global University. National and international bodies—such as ACSM, CEPA, APTA, NSCA, NIH/NIMH, and the National Academy of Kinesiology—contribute to standards, performance metrics, and certifications relevant to rehabilitation and human performance sciences.[9][10][11]
Regulatory framework and oversight
Movement Hospitals are designed to operate within recognized national and state healthcare quality frameworks. While the model is not yet federally licensed as a distinct healthcare classification, its proponents have established compliance processes consistent with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) standards, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 501(c)(3) and 501(r) community-benefit requirements. Institutions adopting the model voluntarily conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) and maintain transparency consistent with hospital outpatient departments.[5][4][12]
At the state level, Movement Hospitals seek alignment with California Department of Public Health (CDPH) outpatient facility standards and comparable regulations in other jurisdictions as the model expands.[13] Collectively, these measures are implemented in preparation for formal CMS licensing, The Joint Commission (TJC) accreditation, and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) regulatory guidance by approximately 2026–2027, in alignment with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Workforce Strategic Plan (2022–2031).[14][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. National Academies Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). Health Workforce Strategic Plan 2022–2031. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/11/03/hhs-releases-health-workforce-strategic-plan.html
- ↑ The Commonwealth Fund. (2021). International health system profiles. https://www.commonwealthfund.org
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) guidance. https://www.cdc.gov
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2020). Value-Based Programs. https://www.cms.gov
- ↑ World Health Organization. (2020). Primary health care on the road to universal health coverage: 2019 monitoring report. https://www.who.int
- ↑ American College of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Certification and professional practice. https://www.acsm.org
- ↑ Clinical Exercise Physiology Association. (n.d.). About CEPA. https://www.acsm-cepa.org
- ↑ A.T. Still University. (n.d.). Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) program. https://atsu.edu
- ↑ American Physical Therapy Association. (n.d.). APTA. https://www.apta.org
- ↑ National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). NIH. https://www.nih.gov
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). Requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals under the Affordable Care Act (Section 501(r)). https://www.irs.gov
- ↑ California Department of Public Health. (n.d.). Licensing & Certification. https://www.cdph.ca.gov
- ↑ The Joint Commission. (n.d.). Accreditation programs. https://www.jointcommission.org
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