IRA Capital Expands Medical Office Portfolio With Florida, Pennsylvania Acquisitions

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Southern California private equity firm IRA Capital (“IRA”) announced the acquisition of two ambulatory surgery center facilities in the Florida and Pennsylvania markets.

The Florida property is 100% leased to The Center for Specialized Surgery (“TCSS”), an orthopedic-focused surgery center operated by Regent Surgical Health (“Regent”) in partnership with Lee Health, a leading health system in Southwest Florida.

The Pennsylvania property is leased to Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center (“PASC”), a multi-specialty surgery center operated by Surgical Care Affiliates (“SCA”) in partnership with Lehigh Valley Health Network (“LVHN”), a leading health system in the Lehigh Valley region.

The Center for Specialized Surgery – Lee Health

The Center for Specialized Surgery is located in Fort Meyers, Florida and comprises approximately 9,000 Square Feet. The 3-OR facility was built in 2012 and is operated by Regent Surgical Health in partnership with 8 physicians from Orthopedic Specialists of Southwest Florida, whose offices are located adjacent to the center. The surgery center specializes in a full range of spine and orthopedic procedures, including total joint replacement. The property is situated across the street from Lee Health’s 415-bed Lee Memorial Hospital, the only Level II trauma center between Miami and Sarasota. In 2019, Lee Health acquired a majority interest in the surgery center partnership.

Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center – Lehigh Valley Health

Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center is located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and leases approximately 32,000 square feet of the facility, which features three operating rooms, a mix of pre and post operation bays, an X-Ray room, and several pre-operation exam rooms. The center employs more than 35 surgeons, and offers ambulatory procedures in more than 15 specialties including gastroenterology, plastic, colon-rectal, ophthalmology, orthopedic, podiatric, and ENT surgery. IRA and PASC signed a new long-term lease for the facility as part of the transaction.

IRA Capital continues to be among the most active healthcare real estate investors, with these latest transactions representing the company’s thirteenth and fourteenth healthcare acquisitions in the past 75 days, totaling over $270 million. According to IRA Capital partner Amer Kasm, the key factors in IRA’s investment decision included each center’s strong performance and position within their respective markets, along with the financial backing of leading health system and the operational expertise provided by top-notch surgery center operators. IRA has continued to strategically grow its portfolio, and has remained focused on being a valuable partner by providing solutions to its tenants and partners during these uncertain times.

 

Source: HREI

Survey: Patients Strongly Prefer Off-Campus Healthcare Experiences

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In an effort to uncover critical insights into patient behavior and serve as thought leaders within the healthcare real estate industry, Physicians Realty Trust (the “Company”) commissioned an independent survey in five of the Company’s largest markets to better understand consumer perceptions of healthcare facility safety within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CVR and Carmichael & Company, healthcare consultants based in Indianapolis, conducted the panel-based survey for the Company, surveying the Atlanta, Dallas, Louisville, Minneapolis, and Phoenix markets. A total of 2,018 respondents were surveyed, resulting in an average margin of error of 2.19% across the five markets.

Strong Consumer Preference for Off-Campus Medical Facilities

The research revealed that when seeking medical treatment, the overwhelming majority of respondents prefer to receive care in an off-campus medical facility located a mile or more from a hospital campus. Based on survey results, this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19, especially given concerns regarding a possible resurgence of the virus later this year.

“The findings affirm our long-term observations in consumer attitudes and validate the Company’s continued investment strategy targeting off-campus medical office buildings,” said John T. Thomas, President and CEO of Physicians Realty Trust. “As thought leaders in the healthcare industry, we commissioned this research to advance our understanding of COVID-19’s impact on our business, as well as provide insight and guidance to our healthcare partners.”

In the report, respondents also provided insights on enhanced safety and hygiene protocols, spokesperson preferences for COVID-19 communication, and other shifting perceptions of healthcare highlighted by the pandemic.

“For many years, consumers and physicians have been seeking services at locations convenient to them and their homes, often away from hospital campuses,” Thomas added. “This study verifies that especially in light of COVID-19 safety and cleanliness concerns, consumers strongly prefer medical office facilities located away from the hospital campus.”

The Company is sharing these findings with its healthcare partners and stakeholders to increase awareness and better understand healthcare consumers’ decisions.

To access the report, go to www.docreit.com/research.

 

Source: PRNewswire

Encouraging Signs For MOB Development

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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most health systems have been forced to put most their efforts into surviving the crisis, leaving little time to think about growing their ambulatory networks and initiating new medical office building (MOB) development projects.

In recent weeks, however, with the opening up of non-elective surgeries in most states, there are reports that this could be changing.

According to Ben Ochs, CEO and managing partner of one of the healthcare real estate (HRE) sector’s most-active development firms in recent years, Media, Pa.-based Anchor Health Properties, requests for proposals (RFPs) from the health systems are starting to resurface.

“Instead of actively pursuing development deals with health systems during the throes of the pandemic and knocking on their doors, Anchor has been, for the most part, waiting for the health systems to be the initiators,” Ochs noted. “That said, we have seen a number of system-sponsored RFPs come out … and I think at last count we’re in the middle of responding to about four, right now, which I think is a very positive sign.”

Mr. Ochs was one of three panelists to take part in a June 10 HRE webinar titled, “State of the Industry: What’s the Outlook for 2020 from an Investment, Development and Leasing/Operations Perspective?”

The two-part online event, sponsored by Atlanta-based InterFace Conference Group, began with a panel discussion on investment. That was followed by a session on development that featured Mr. Ochs, along with Mark Davis of longtime Minneapolis-based HRE development firm Davis, and Chad Henderson of Pensacola, Fla.-based Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate (HRE). HREI™ Publisher Murray W. Wolf moderated the development discussion.

 

Source: HREI