SCOTTSDALE, AZ-Most of your visits to a physician in the future could be made during a trip to a shopping center. And at the same time, a new wave of physician’s might be found doing work at a computer in Starbucks rather than a traditional doctor’s office.
The 3rd Annual RealShare Medical Office Buildings show occurring here today is packed with references to how the medical office sector will soon look a lot more like the reatail real estate sector in many ways.
The vacant medical office buildings out there weren’t built with the consumer in mind and where they want to go, said Ross Caulum, senior director of real estate at Scripps Health, speaking on a panel about hospital expansion. “The consumer drives the decision.”
Stores like Walmart and CVS are also offering more basic health care. And it makes sense to put a nurse practitioner in a store that already has a pharmacist. But it still seems like a strange shift to the medical community, said Jeffrey Land, vice president of corporate real estate at San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West. “Health care is turning much more retail,” he said. “It’s got to get much more service oriented.”
On the other hand, medical systems are starting to take control of vacant retail facilities hit hard by the recession. Jim Moloney, managing director at Cain Brothers, who gave the morning keynote speech, spoke about a dead mall in Nashville that turned into an ambulatory-care facility. He also agreed with a drift away from the traditional hospital setting. “Off campus is going to be a growth area,” he said.
What is one of the major challenges in the way of this shift? “Most hospital administrators do not understand real estate that well,” said Mike Brinkley, executive director of the John C. Lincoln Health Network, based in Phoenix. “It is a challenge to go to the administrators and tell them about the new reality.”
Like other sectors of real estate, the medical office community needs to be resilient and changing with the economic times. Pointed out Brinkley: “This is the first recession that has affected hospitals. We are trying to get efficient.”
| Highlights from the Event |
|
|
Jim Moloney, managing director at Cain Brothers, gives the morning keynote at RealShare Medical Office Buildings, in Scottsdale, AZ.
Daniel Ceniceros, vice president of ALM's Real Estate Media Group, kicks off the event.
Members of a panel called "Hospital Expansion - Where Do We Go From Here?" give insights on this topic.
Al Pontius, a senior vice president and managing director at Marcus & Millichap, talks about the transaction market.© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.