Bruce M. Gans has been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Frank J. Bailey as an independent trustee of Newton-based Hospitality Properties Trust.

HPT has previously announced that Bailey had submitted his resignation effective Jan. 30, as a result of Bailey’s appointment as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Massachusetts.

Gans is expected to serve the remainder of Bailey’s term that will expire at the annual meeting of HPT shareholders in 2009, at which time it is expected that Gans will stand for election by HPT shareholders.

Gans has also been appointed to HPT’s Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Governance Committees.

Gans has been executive vice president and chief medical officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J. for the past seven years. He has served as a director of Five Star Quality Care since 2001.