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Boosting Amenities Becoming A Key Element To Healthcare Facilities

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Boosting amenities offerings are being given strong consideration for healthcare facilities as a way to create a more positive experience for the patient, leading them to be more likely to choose that provider thereafter, according to a new report from JLL.

“Colocation of traditional medical office space with primary care or specialists could allow health systems to utilize their current real estate portfolio more fully, and if done well could pay dividends,” the report said.

Some 63% of respondents said they would be interested in visiting a healthcare facility for an additional amenity. 80% of Gen Z and 77% of Millennials said they would be interested in visiting additional amenities at a healthcare facility, compared with 62% of Gen X and only 44% of Baby Boomers.

Alternative medicine such as chiropractors or acupuncturists was the No. 1 amenity choice for all four cohorts. Restaurants were the top choice for Gen Z and that amenity also ranked high in the other three cohorts. Fitness centers were the second choice for Gen Z and Millennials and the third choice for Boomers. Childcare and retail scored lowest among the six amenity choices offered.

Younger generations were more likely to respond that they would be interested in visiting additional amenities at a healthcare facility, according to JLL. Younger generations were less likely to have a primary care provider, instead preferring urgent care or the hospital emergency room department.

“Past experience” was a major factor in the choice of a provider, with over 40% of participants ranking it in the top 5 for all care types and over 50% for primary or preventative care and urgent care.

Alison Flynn Gaffney, FACHE, President, Healthcare Division, JLL, tells GlobeSt.com that wholistic health and wellness campuses that include fitness, retail, food services, and other mixed-use amenities curate an environment that looks beyond the immediate care need, giving consumers an experience with the health system complementary to medical needs.

“This creates more stickiness for existing patients or could introduce new consumers to the brand and increasing familiarity could make it more likely they will choose the location for a future care need,” Flynn Gaffney said. “Additionally, patients are looking for ease, and combing seeking care with other needs like everyday errands makes their lives easier. Healthcare co-located with pharmacies, retail, and restaurants achieves this, and that affects the overall patient experience.”

Seniors, in particular, are drawn to amenities, according to Trish Benson, Chief Strategy Officer, Transitions, such as relaxation areas and meditation rooms as they can provide a peaceful space to relax, meditate, and relieve stress.

“Fitness centers and gyms can help seniors maintain an active lifestyle and improve their physical fitness, which can help prevent chronic diseases and disabilities associated with aging,” Benson said. “Nutrition and healthy cooking classes can help seniors learn about healthy eating habits and meal planning, which can promote their overall health and wellbeing.”

She said that pet therapy programs can provide seniors with the companionship of animals, which can help reduce feelings of loneliness and depression and advanced technology and telemedicine services can help seniors access medical care and services regardless of their location, providing them with more convenience and flexibility. Overall, these amenities can enhance seniors’ quality of life and promote healthy aging.

And as demand for convenient medical and behavioral health services is spiking, healthcare is being brought closer to home with a variety of convenient outpatient services delivered in standalone locations or attached to senior or affordable living facilities, Brian Kane, Skender Construction Vice President, Healthcare, tells GlobeSt.com.

Its Torrence Place project in Lansing, Ill., is one example, “offering 48 accessible and adaptable multifamily units with a focus on veterans and people with disabilities and also includes a 3,600-square foot health clinic and pharmacy on-site.

“Adding to the convenience theme, we’ve seen some outpatient healthcare projects provide a thoughtful—not random or accidental— collection of specializations under one roof,” Kane said.

Skender recently completed the 12,000-square-foot buildout of Northwestern Medicine’s Pain and Spine Center in Bloomingdale, Ill., and it offers related specializations like pain management, neurology, physical therapy, and chiropractic in one convenient clinic.

“We’re also seeing an evolution of the amenity offering in major medical facilities and inpatient hospitals, mostly with the addition of safety, comfort, and sustainability features,” Kane said. “In projects such as the new IU Health Bloomington Regional Academic Health Center in Bloomington, we’ve added features like specialized ventilation systems and touchless fixtures to aid in infection control; natural and energy-efficient lighting to reduce stress; and modular designs with movable partitions to allow for easy reconfiguration of space like converting regular rooms into intensive care units.”

Kane said his healthcare clients are increasingly asking for the addition of outdoor space, and what used to be categorized as “nice to have” is now a baseline essential.

Hospitals are seeing similar trends, according to Doug King, Vice President and National Heathcare Sector Lead at Project Management Advisors, as many are eliminating the traditional cafeteria and replacing it with retail, food, and shopping options for visitors, staff, and patients.

Northwestern Medicine in Chicago started this trend about 10 years ago, eliminating its cafeteria and putting a robust retail program in its place.

More recently, the new Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital in Ontario, Canada, is following suit, setting up retail and dining options in place of a cafeteria from the start.

“This works well for urban hospitals, which get a good deal of foot traffic,” King tells GlobeSt.com. “We are also seeing healthcare facilities provide outdoor access for staff, patients, and families on multiple levels of the building.”

For example, one large Midwestern hospital recently opted to build a rooftop garden that staff, patients, and siblings of the children in the pediatric and NICU areas can access for a little green space and outdoor therapy. The Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital is exploring providing staff outdoor respite areas on multiple levels in the facility as well.

“Many hospitals are also expanding parking access for patients directly below the hospital,” King said. “Additionally, an increasing number of healthcare centers are providing childcare options for patients. Members of PMA recently conducted an IRB-approved, grant-funded research study which found that people living below the poverty line often miss medical appointments because they can’t find childcare, so integrating daycare centers into medical settings can help to alleviate that issue for many patients.”

To mitigate staff shortages and decrease the risk of infection, many healthcare facilities are using AI and autonomous robotic vehicles to handle some of the repetitive service, delivery, and pickup functions previously done by service staff, according to King.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

MOBs Continue To See Demand As They Adapt To Market Changes

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The medical office building (MOB) sector continues to be favored by investors as a stable asset despite real estate challenges and disruptions brought on by the pandemic, according to JLL’s (Chicago) new “Healthcare and Medical Office Perspective.”

The recent report explores key themes impacting U.S. healthcare systems and medical office owners, including labor challenges, payor and reimbursement pressures, elevated costs, and industry disruptions

“Facilities offer both risks and opportunities to healthcare providers, and, despite the challenges, the critical nature of healthcare and large tailwinds from a growing and aging population continue to make healthcare real estate one of the most stable asset classes for investors,” Jay Johnson, National Practice Leader, Healthcare Markets, JLL, said in a press release.

Specifically, medical office occupancy is relatively stronger than the commercial office sector and was significantly less disrupted by pandemic. Medical office asking rents averaged 2 percent growth year over year for the past five years and reached an average $23 per square foot triple net by mid-year 2022, reports JLL.

Medical office sales reached $9.2 billion in the first half of 2022 after a record performance and investor interest in 2021. JLL anticipates 2022 to close at another record year. The strong demand for healthcare services and the continued shift to outpatient care is expected to assure healthy investor appetite for MOBs.

 

Source: healthcare design

Nonprofit The City Of Hope In Talks To Acquire Cancer Treatment Centers Of America For $390M

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California-based The City of Hope just announced that it is in talks to pay $390 million to acquire Boca Raton-based Cancer Treatment Centers of America, a network of oncology hospitals and outpatient care centers.

The deal is expected to close in early 2022, subject to regulatory approval. After close, City of Hope officials plan to convert CTCA to a nonprofit organization.

Combined, City of Hope and CTCA have 11,000 “team members,” which includes collaborating physicians across California, Arizona, Illinois and Georgia.

“City of Hope’s acquisition of CTCA and the transition of CTCA to nonprofit status should enhance and expand its battle against cancer,” said John Balitis, chairman of the Labor & Employment Department at Jennings, Strouss & Salmon PLC law firm in Phoenix. “Unlike a for-profit business that maximizes revenue for distribution to owners, a nonprofit entity recycles what otherwise would be profit back into the entity to further the entity’s mission and purpose. Tax concessions for nonprofits also free up funds for use in pursuing goals and objectives that otherwise would be unavailable in a for-profit setting. Such a change for an organization like CTCA is positive when you consider how vital research and clinical trials are in the cancer treatment industry. In Arizona, where CTCA has four locations, we might expect an expansion in programs as well as facilities as more funds become accessible to further the organization’s goals rather than to be paid out as dividends.”

Reduce Operating Costs

The combination of City of Hope and CTCA also can provide the combined organization with the economies of scale that reduce operating costs and provide the opportunity to reinvest those dollars into research, technology and other modes of life-saving innovations that can benefit patients, said Joan Koerber-Walker, president & CEO of the Arizona Bioindustry Association.

“With missions that are closely aligned and that put the needs of cancer patients first, this looks to be an excellent opportunity to improve the lives of cancer patients and the people who care about them,” Koerber-Walker said.

Joseph Lupica, chairman of Newpoint Healthcare Advisors LLC, said City of Hope has had a sterling reputation as an outstanding provider in a high acuity setting.

“With today’s emphasis on value-based care, however, if a single-specialty hospitals has a high cost of care to go with all that excellence, they can quickly find themselves on the wrong side of history,” Lupica, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, said. “Patients and payers demand value, which considers both quality and cost. This is especially in a market where UCLA, USC and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center all have extremely well-regarded cancer programs, but have a broader base of services.”

The last time Lupica studied that market, he found that City of Hope’s publicly-reported cost per day was almost 40% higher than other hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley, even after adjusting for case mix acuity.

“With this acquisition, maybe City of Hope has found a business proposition that will improve their value equation — quality and cost — by diversifying their base and learning from an efficient company,” Lupica said. “And they can do it without moving away from their core clinical competency.

 

Source: SFBJ