(Crain's) — A Boston-area real estate investment firm is set to close on a downtown Evanston office building where a more lucrative deal with a local buyer fell through last fall.
The six-story building at 909 Davis St. is expected to sell for about $35 million, or about $180 per square foot, according to one person familiar with the transaction. The buyer, Wakefield, Mass.-based Franklin Street Properties, is expected to close Friday.
Last fall, Northbrook-based Romanek Properties Ltd. was close to buying the building for more than $39 million before the deal fell through. That sale would have fetched about $200 per square foot.
James Postweiler, a managing director with Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. who is representing the seller, declined to comment. The building's owner, a German real estate fund advised by New York-based Real Estate Capital Partners L.P., bought it for $34.2 million in 2003.
The buyer and seller were not immediately available late Tuesday.
Built in 2002, the structure, with 195,245 square feet of office space, is fully leased, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group Inc. The largest tenant is textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which subleases much of its 149,000 square feet but has a lease until 2017. The ground floor includes some retail.
“It's the best building in town, by far, because of the amenities,” says William Novelli, a CB Richard Ellis Inc. senior vice-president in the local office who previously listed the property but is no longer affiliated with the building.
The north suburban building has nearby access to Metra and CTA trains, as well as retail and condominiums. In Evanston, an existing building is an attractive investment because of high construction costs and a relative lack of available land for new developments, Mr. Novelli says.
“It would be difficult to build that today,” he says.
Franklin Street Properties' portfolio includes many suburban office buildings, and it also organizes real estate investment trusts.
The pending deal in Evanston comes at a time when a shaky economy has caused increased caution among potential buyers in the suburbs, some real estate observers say.
“Right now it's probably been a little tempered compared to what it was,” Mr. Novelli says. “The suburbs have had more of the users buying and only a few investors buying. There's still a demand, for the right deal. For the most part, buyers are hesitant because of the uncertainty.”
Showing posts with label hospitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospitals. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Rush University Medical Center's new hospital
Rush University Medical Center on Dec. 8 will dedicate a striking new main hospital building on Chicago's Near West Side. Designed by Ralph Johnson of Chicago architects Perkins+Will and located just south of the Eisenhower Expressway, the building places a curvilinear tower for patients' rooms over a rectilinear base for diagnosis and treatment areas. The hospital is expected to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design status, recognizing its energy-saving features. The hospital opens Jan. 9.
Monday, September 26, 2011
As Children's Hospitals Expand Costs rise too
WASHINGTON — Rising from a 60-acre field of old cypress swamp and cattle pasture near the Orlando airport, the seven-story Nemours Children's Hospital will be a monument to "best-in-class" care, its leaders boast.
That may be the case. But at a cost of about $400 million, the equivalent of $4.2 million for each of its 95 beds, Nemours also will rank among the more expensive children's hospitals ever built when it is completed next year. Some people believe construction never should have begun.
Florida health planners twice rejected Nemours' applications for a new hospital, noting that Orlando already had two children's hospitals; most cities have only one. A third hospital could duplicate existing services, driving up costs for insurers, employers and policyholders.
The regulators reversed themselves in 2008, however, after Nemours, a wealthy Jacksonville-based foundation, mounted an extensive marketing campaign and lined up scores or politicians and civic boosters, including former Gov. Jeb Bush.
"It's a case of excess here in Orlando," said Becky Cherney, until recently the head of the Florida Health Care Coalition, a statewide business group concerned about the impact of rising health spending. "We don't have anything against Nemours. But central Florida doesn't need another children's hospital."
The battle over Nemours reflects the transformation of children's hospitals from small, struggling charities to huge, often profitable businesses. From their humble origins more than a century ago, many of the nation's biggest and best-known children's hospitals today are health care juggernauts with sprawling medical centers and suburban satellites, extensive real estate holdings, thousands of well-paid employees and millionaire CEOs.
The billions of dollars flowing through children's hospitals every year pay for care for tens of thousands of kids, many of them extremely sick or suffering from chronic conditions requiring a lifetime of treatment. Hospital officials say costs are high because the care is complicated and the technology expensive. In addition, the hospitals help fund research into the causes and treatment of diseases.
But the surge in spending also is helping to fuel a multibillion-dollar building boom as hospitals add towers and beds. That in turn is spurring more spending on staff and technology, even as Washington, the states and employers grapple with budget-busting increases in health care spending. While children's hospitals represent a small slice of the nation's health care bill, they offer a case study of the expansive ambitions of hospital leaders and the faltering efforts of government to control spiraling costs.
The government heavily subsidizes the care of children from low-income families with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, and also provides nonprofit children's hospitals with significant tax breaks that help them fund their growth. Private employers and their workers pay most of the rest of the bill for kids' care through health insurance. When a new hospital like Nemours is built or another expands, taxpayers and private insurance policyholders pick up the tab down the road.
Over the past year, Kaiser Health News examined the business of children's hospitals, interviewing experts and hospital officials and inspecting a variety of records, including the hospitals' publicly available federal tax returns and bond documents filed in the course of borrowing money for expansion.
Some hospitals refused to answer questions, and the documents fell short of providing a complete financial picture. One of the frustrating obstacles confronting independent analysts is the lack of transparency in the hospital industry, including facilities that serve adults. There aren't reliable comparative measures of quality or finances. And, with few exceptions, the prices hospitals charge insurers for care are closely guarded secrets.
Many of the approximately 220 children's hospitals nationwide are part of large adult health systems, and details of their finances aren't public. Some are large and well known, such as the 455-bed Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, part of Indiana University Health, and the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, which expects to open a new 205-bed hospital next year.
Kaiser Health News' examination focused on the nation's 39 largest independent children's hospitals. They are viewed within the industry as elite providers. All are nonprofit. But the financial performance of some would be the envy of for-profit companies, public tax returns show.
The big, freestanding children's hospitals generally have a huge advantage in the marketplace: They face little competition and provide an essential service, giving them leverage to negotiate favorable prices with health insurers. At some, charges have risen sharply, increasing two to three times inflation, records and interviews show. That has encouraged aggressive expansion and spending on new facilities, costly technology and executive pay.
"The elite children's hospitals don't compete on price," said Jerry Katz, a former CEO of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. "They compete for prestige. What that means is they are competing for the top docs and researchers, the top programs."
To be sure, not all children's hospitals make big profits; some struggle to break even. In 2009, the elite children's hospitals reported $1.5 billion in profits — what nonprofits call surpluses. The top 10 alone earned more than $800 million in profits. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported a $197 million surplus and paid its CEO nearly $2.1 million.
In 2009, most CEOs at the nation's largest children's hospitals were paid $1 million or more, public tax returns show. Randall L. O'Donnell, CEO of Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., led the list at almost $6 million, including a special retirement payout of $4.1 million. Five other CEOs collected more than $2 million. Many of the executives received hefty bonuses, country club memberships, cars or other perks.
CEOs say their pay packages are warranted by the responsibilities of running large, complicated businesses — charities or not. Under O'Donnell's leadership, Children's Mercy grew from a small, local hospital to a regional and "national destination," said spokesman David Oliver. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia doubled in size, to an estimated $1.8 billion in annual revenue, under CEO Steven M. Altschuler.
The pay packages of children's hospital executives compare favorably to CEO compensation at the nation's biggest and best-known adult hospitals, record show. The head of the Cleveland Clinic, with more than $5 billion annually in revenue, received $2.1 million in 2009. The head of the Mayo Clinic parent group: nearly $2.2 million.
As nonprofits, children's hospitals enjoy an array of tax breaks covering real estate, earnings and investment gains. Spokesmen say this allows them to act as safety-net providers for the poor. It also helps them boost their reserves and grow the business.
The 39 largest hospitals, Kaiser Health News found, had accumulated $20 billion in stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments as of 2010 — nearly enough to provide an entire year's worth of medical care for free. They had net assets — the equivalent of net worth for non-profits — of $23 billion.
Children's Hospital Boston, arguably the nation's best-known hospital for children, listed $2.6 billion in stocks and other investments in bond filings.
Last year, the 400-bed hospital was cited as having some of the highest charges in Massachusetts in a report critical of hospital expenses filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley. Hospital officials declined numerous requests for an interview but noted on their website that they have lowered the rate of their increases.
Even with their tax breaks and wealth, top children's hospitals provide relatively little charity care. On average, about 2 percent of what children's hospitals spend is for free medical care, according to the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, an industry group. Some of the largest and richest children's hospitals spend less than 1 percent.
The American Hospital Association does not break out what its more than 5,000 members, mainly adult hospitals, spend annually on charity care. In 2009, the association said its hospitals provided $39.1 billion in uncompensated care, which includes bad debt as well as charity care.
In 2009, less than one-half of 1 percent of Texas Children's Hospital's spending went to charity care, according to its tax return. The 639-bed Houston hospital reported $1 billion in revenue and $1.9 billion in cash and investments that year. It spent $4.3 million on free care.
In an email, a spokeswoman noted that Texas Children's used more than $80 million of its own money to fund research, teaching and other community-based initiatives as part of its charitable mission. Other children's hospitals point to clinics and public health programs as examples of their community outreach. They say those efforts exceed the value of their tax exemptions.
Taxpayers also are helping to underwrite a race to the top among the nation's largest children's hospitals, subsidizing billions in tax-exempt bonds for new hospital towers, outpatient centers, parking garages and research facilities. Nemours is funding $300 million of its new hospital with tax-exempt bonds.
The Nemours project is part of a nationwide construction boom involving children's hospitals. In the last decade, children's hospitals have spent at least $15 billion on expansions, bond filings and other records show. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia spent $1 billion and says it expects to spend another billion in coming years. At $625 million, the new Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh cost more than the combined price tag of PNC Park and Heinz Field, home to the Pirates and Steelers. Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago is spending $915 million on a new facility — the equivalent of $3.1 million per bed.
In metropolitan Denver, the major children's hospital has expanded not once but twice in the last five years. In 2007, Denver Children's, now known as Children's Hospital Colorado, opened a $650 million hospital in the suburbs. It is now adding a $230-million, 10-story expansion.
"We were probably as surprised as you that we would need space so soon after moving into our new facility," explained Colorado CEO Jim Shmerling, but demand has risen by 35 percent. "You always wonder with new construction like we have, will it continue? Well, indeed it has."
Shmerling pointed to several factors spurring the increase in demand, including the lure of a bright new facility and a growing population of children. The hospital also has experienced a bump in referrals from outside the state — about 12 percent of all admissions. At the same time, advances in pediatric medicine have cut mortality rates for some childhood diseases.
"We used to see mortality of 90 percent for some cancers. Now we see survival rates of 90 percent," Shmerling said. But survivors require lots of care, including tests, chemotherapy and other procedures, which he said "have them coming back to the hospital."
While overall pediatric admissions have declined about 15 percent in the last decade, they have climbed at independent children's hospitals. One reason is that as community hospitals close small pediatric units, those patients are steered elsewhere. Children's hospitals also are extending their reach into the suburbs, other states and even other countries.
Larry A. McAndrews, until last week the head of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, said many children's hospitals are also expanding their research efforts. Others are replacing outdated facilities. Yet even in states with declining children's populations, including Ohio and California, billions in new spending is taking place.
Like other businesses, children's hospitals have their own unique brands, missions and ambitions. "Part of it is we are part of a competitive, capitalistic model," said McAndrews. "In this country we want to build a facility that is bigger and better."
Some of the spending, hospital officials say, reflects their unique needs. The typical patient's room is larger than an adult room in order to accommodate more technology and parents who sleep over. Urban construction costs also tend to be higher because of pricey real estate and space constrictions. Children's Memorial officials in Chicago pointed out that building their new 23-story hospital on a "relatively small parcel of land" has posed special challenges, including installing two separate banks of elevators between lower and upper floors.
There are other reasons for high costs. Many of the new hospitals are architectural showcases. They feature atriums, rooftop gardens, indoor playgrounds, flat-panel televisions, on-demand movies and video games and work stations for parents, among other amenities.
Martin Gaynor, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University who has written extensively about hospital spending, says he was stunned when he toured the new Pittsburgh hospital.
"I couldn't believe it," he said. "It's a beautiful, beautiful facility. It's a very nice facility for the families and kids.
"It's a very awkward question to ask," Gaynor added, "but at some point one wonders just how nice does this have to be?"
For the complete article and further information please visit the Bellingham Herald by clicking here.
That may be the case. But at a cost of about $400 million, the equivalent of $4.2 million for each of its 95 beds, Nemours also will rank among the more expensive children's hospitals ever built when it is completed next year. Some people believe construction never should have begun.
Florida health planners twice rejected Nemours' applications for a new hospital, noting that Orlando already had two children's hospitals; most cities have only one. A third hospital could duplicate existing services, driving up costs for insurers, employers and policyholders.
The regulators reversed themselves in 2008, however, after Nemours, a wealthy Jacksonville-based foundation, mounted an extensive marketing campaign and lined up scores or politicians and civic boosters, including former Gov. Jeb Bush.
"It's a case of excess here in Orlando," said Becky Cherney, until recently the head of the Florida Health Care Coalition, a statewide business group concerned about the impact of rising health spending. "We don't have anything against Nemours. But central Florida doesn't need another children's hospital."
The battle over Nemours reflects the transformation of children's hospitals from small, struggling charities to huge, often profitable businesses. From their humble origins more than a century ago, many of the nation's biggest and best-known children's hospitals today are health care juggernauts with sprawling medical centers and suburban satellites, extensive real estate holdings, thousands of well-paid employees and millionaire CEOs.
The billions of dollars flowing through children's hospitals every year pay for care for tens of thousands of kids, many of them extremely sick or suffering from chronic conditions requiring a lifetime of treatment. Hospital officials say costs are high because the care is complicated and the technology expensive. In addition, the hospitals help fund research into the causes and treatment of diseases.
But the surge in spending also is helping to fuel a multibillion-dollar building boom as hospitals add towers and beds. That in turn is spurring more spending on staff and technology, even as Washington, the states and employers grapple with budget-busting increases in health care spending. While children's hospitals represent a small slice of the nation's health care bill, they offer a case study of the expansive ambitions of hospital leaders and the faltering efforts of government to control spiraling costs.
The government heavily subsidizes the care of children from low-income families with Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, and also provides nonprofit children's hospitals with significant tax breaks that help them fund their growth. Private employers and their workers pay most of the rest of the bill for kids' care through health insurance. When a new hospital like Nemours is built or another expands, taxpayers and private insurance policyholders pick up the tab down the road.
Over the past year, Kaiser Health News examined the business of children's hospitals, interviewing experts and hospital officials and inspecting a variety of records, including the hospitals' publicly available federal tax returns and bond documents filed in the course of borrowing money for expansion.
Some hospitals refused to answer questions, and the documents fell short of providing a complete financial picture. One of the frustrating obstacles confronting independent analysts is the lack of transparency in the hospital industry, including facilities that serve adults. There aren't reliable comparative measures of quality or finances. And, with few exceptions, the prices hospitals charge insurers for care are closely guarded secrets.
Many of the approximately 220 children's hospitals nationwide are part of large adult health systems, and details of their finances aren't public. Some are large and well known, such as the 455-bed Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, part of Indiana University Health, and the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, which expects to open a new 205-bed hospital next year.
Kaiser Health News' examination focused on the nation's 39 largest independent children's hospitals. They are viewed within the industry as elite providers. All are nonprofit. But the financial performance of some would be the envy of for-profit companies, public tax returns show.
The big, freestanding children's hospitals generally have a huge advantage in the marketplace: They face little competition and provide an essential service, giving them leverage to negotiate favorable prices with health insurers. At some, charges have risen sharply, increasing two to three times inflation, records and interviews show. That has encouraged aggressive expansion and spending on new facilities, costly technology and executive pay.
"The elite children's hospitals don't compete on price," said Jerry Katz, a former CEO of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. "They compete for prestige. What that means is they are competing for the top docs and researchers, the top programs."
To be sure, not all children's hospitals make big profits; some struggle to break even. In 2009, the elite children's hospitals reported $1.5 billion in profits — what nonprofits call surpluses. The top 10 alone earned more than $800 million in profits. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported a $197 million surplus and paid its CEO nearly $2.1 million.
In 2009, most CEOs at the nation's largest children's hospitals were paid $1 million or more, public tax returns show. Randall L. O'Donnell, CEO of Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., led the list at almost $6 million, including a special retirement payout of $4.1 million. Five other CEOs collected more than $2 million. Many of the executives received hefty bonuses, country club memberships, cars or other perks.
CEOs say their pay packages are warranted by the responsibilities of running large, complicated businesses — charities or not. Under O'Donnell's leadership, Children's Mercy grew from a small, local hospital to a regional and "national destination," said spokesman David Oliver. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia doubled in size, to an estimated $1.8 billion in annual revenue, under CEO Steven M. Altschuler.
The pay packages of children's hospital executives compare favorably to CEO compensation at the nation's biggest and best-known adult hospitals, record show. The head of the Cleveland Clinic, with more than $5 billion annually in revenue, received $2.1 million in 2009. The head of the Mayo Clinic parent group: nearly $2.2 million.
As nonprofits, children's hospitals enjoy an array of tax breaks covering real estate, earnings and investment gains. Spokesmen say this allows them to act as safety-net providers for the poor. It also helps them boost their reserves and grow the business.
The 39 largest hospitals, Kaiser Health News found, had accumulated $20 billion in stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments as of 2010 — nearly enough to provide an entire year's worth of medical care for free. They had net assets — the equivalent of net worth for non-profits — of $23 billion.
Children's Hospital Boston, arguably the nation's best-known hospital for children, listed $2.6 billion in stocks and other investments in bond filings.
Last year, the 400-bed hospital was cited as having some of the highest charges in Massachusetts in a report critical of hospital expenses filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley. Hospital officials declined numerous requests for an interview but noted on their website that they have lowered the rate of their increases.
Even with their tax breaks and wealth, top children's hospitals provide relatively little charity care. On average, about 2 percent of what children's hospitals spend is for free medical care, according to the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, an industry group. Some of the largest and richest children's hospitals spend less than 1 percent.
The American Hospital Association does not break out what its more than 5,000 members, mainly adult hospitals, spend annually on charity care. In 2009, the association said its hospitals provided $39.1 billion in uncompensated care, which includes bad debt as well as charity care.
In 2009, less than one-half of 1 percent of Texas Children's Hospital's spending went to charity care, according to its tax return. The 639-bed Houston hospital reported $1 billion in revenue and $1.9 billion in cash and investments that year. It spent $4.3 million on free care.
In an email, a spokeswoman noted that Texas Children's used more than $80 million of its own money to fund research, teaching and other community-based initiatives as part of its charitable mission. Other children's hospitals point to clinics and public health programs as examples of their community outreach. They say those efforts exceed the value of their tax exemptions.
Taxpayers also are helping to underwrite a race to the top among the nation's largest children's hospitals, subsidizing billions in tax-exempt bonds for new hospital towers, outpatient centers, parking garages and research facilities. Nemours is funding $300 million of its new hospital with tax-exempt bonds.
The Nemours project is part of a nationwide construction boom involving children's hospitals. In the last decade, children's hospitals have spent at least $15 billion on expansions, bond filings and other records show. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia spent $1 billion and says it expects to spend another billion in coming years. At $625 million, the new Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh cost more than the combined price tag of PNC Park and Heinz Field, home to the Pirates and Steelers. Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago is spending $915 million on a new facility — the equivalent of $3.1 million per bed.
In metropolitan Denver, the major children's hospital has expanded not once but twice in the last five years. In 2007, Denver Children's, now known as Children's Hospital Colorado, opened a $650 million hospital in the suburbs. It is now adding a $230-million, 10-story expansion.
"We were probably as surprised as you that we would need space so soon after moving into our new facility," explained Colorado CEO Jim Shmerling, but demand has risen by 35 percent. "You always wonder with new construction like we have, will it continue? Well, indeed it has."
Shmerling pointed to several factors spurring the increase in demand, including the lure of a bright new facility and a growing population of children. The hospital also has experienced a bump in referrals from outside the state — about 12 percent of all admissions. At the same time, advances in pediatric medicine have cut mortality rates for some childhood diseases.
"We used to see mortality of 90 percent for some cancers. Now we see survival rates of 90 percent," Shmerling said. But survivors require lots of care, including tests, chemotherapy and other procedures, which he said "have them coming back to the hospital."
While overall pediatric admissions have declined about 15 percent in the last decade, they have climbed at independent children's hospitals. One reason is that as community hospitals close small pediatric units, those patients are steered elsewhere. Children's hospitals also are extending their reach into the suburbs, other states and even other countries.
Larry A. McAndrews, until last week the head of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, said many children's hospitals are also expanding their research efforts. Others are replacing outdated facilities. Yet even in states with declining children's populations, including Ohio and California, billions in new spending is taking place.
Like other businesses, children's hospitals have their own unique brands, missions and ambitions. "Part of it is we are part of a competitive, capitalistic model," said McAndrews. "In this country we want to build a facility that is bigger and better."
Some of the spending, hospital officials say, reflects their unique needs. The typical patient's room is larger than an adult room in order to accommodate more technology and parents who sleep over. Urban construction costs also tend to be higher because of pricey real estate and space constrictions. Children's Memorial officials in Chicago pointed out that building their new 23-story hospital on a "relatively small parcel of land" has posed special challenges, including installing two separate banks of elevators between lower and upper floors.
There are other reasons for high costs. Many of the new hospitals are architectural showcases. They feature atriums, rooftop gardens, indoor playgrounds, flat-panel televisions, on-demand movies and video games and work stations for parents, among other amenities.
Martin Gaynor, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University who has written extensively about hospital spending, says he was stunned when he toured the new Pittsburgh hospital.
"I couldn't believe it," he said. "It's a beautiful, beautiful facility. It's a very nice facility for the families and kids.
"It's a very awkward question to ask," Gaynor added, "but at some point one wonders just how nice does this have to be?"
For the complete article and further information please visit the Bellingham Herald by clicking here.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Health Care REITs Raise $22.5B for Investment
CHICAGO-Investors have been increasingly chasing the stability and ROI attractiveness of the $700 billion worth of medical property in the United States, including hospitals, outpatient facilities and senior housing, according to locally based Jones Lang LaSalle.
According to a recent report by the firm’s Healthcare Capital Markets group, about $22.5 billion alone has been raised in debt and equity for the sector in the past 18 months by the groups easiest to track, the public and private real estate investment trusts. Mindy Berman, managing director of capital markets for the group, tells GlobeSt.com that the trusts are the easiest investment group to track.
“If you look closely at the figures, health care trusts make up about 12% of all REITs, but they have raised about 25% of the total US REIT investment, a disproportionate number,” Berman says. “That’s not including the non-trust asset management, developers and investors that are also expressing an interest in this product.”
Three of the trusts alone – Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, Healthcare Trust of America and American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust – acquired more than $500 million of medical properties in 2011. The three trusts acquired 55 properties, more than a third of all medical office assets traded hands during the period.
Berman attributes the strong interest to a few factors. Primarily, ROI has shown to be an average 5.3% for health care properties, as opposed to office, industrial and retail properties with an averages all less than 5%.
“You have demographics in your favor, as health care is going to increase in demand no matter what,” she says. “Plus with the reform, you have the 32 million of uninsured individuals that will get coverage by 2014, though those numbers will be offset by certain planned reductions in Medicare reimbursement.”
She says investment sales have risen due to the ripening of the properties developed during the 2005-07 cycle, presenting favorable pricing. “These sellers are reinvesting in new development activity that has been spawned by hospitals and health care providers that firmed up financials in the past couple years, after getting clobbered in 2008-09,” Berman says. “With their financial condition improved, the projects that were shelved are coming back to life.”
According to a recent report by the firm’s Healthcare Capital Markets group, about $22.5 billion alone has been raised in debt and equity for the sector in the past 18 months by the groups easiest to track, the public and private real estate investment trusts. Mindy Berman, managing director of capital markets for the group, tells GlobeSt.com that the trusts are the easiest investment group to track.
“If you look closely at the figures, health care trusts make up about 12% of all REITs, but they have raised about 25% of the total US REIT investment, a disproportionate number,” Berman says. “That’s not including the non-trust asset management, developers and investors that are also expressing an interest in this product.”
Three of the trusts alone – Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, Healthcare Trust of America and American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust – acquired more than $500 million of medical properties in 2011. The three trusts acquired 55 properties, more than a third of all medical office assets traded hands during the period.
Berman attributes the strong interest to a few factors. Primarily, ROI has shown to be an average 5.3% for health care properties, as opposed to office, industrial and retail properties with an averages all less than 5%.
“You have demographics in your favor, as health care is going to increase in demand no matter what,” she says. “Plus with the reform, you have the 32 million of uninsured individuals that will get coverage by 2014, though those numbers will be offset by certain planned reductions in Medicare reimbursement.”
She says investment sales have risen due to the ripening of the properties developed during the 2005-07 cycle, presenting favorable pricing. “These sellers are reinvesting in new development activity that has been spawned by hospitals and health care providers that firmed up financials in the past couple years, after getting clobbered in 2008-09,” Berman says. “With their financial condition improved, the projects that were shelved are coming back to life.”
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Loyola Health chooses Vanderbilt hospital chief as CEO
By Michael Oneal
Tribune reporter
4:46 p.m. CDT, September 9, 2011
Trinity Health named a new chief executive for its recently acquired Loyola University Health System Friday.
Larry M. Goldberg, 49, chief executive of the Vanderbilt University Hospital and former vice president of operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago will take over in mid-October, Trinity said.
Trinity, based in Novi, MI., operates 47 acute care hospitals and is the nation'sfifth largest Catholic health system. It announced the purchase of the Loyola hospital business in March after Loyola University Chicago concluded a merger with a larger organization was the only way to stay competitive in an increasingly difficult business.
The deal will allow Loyola and Trinity to pool capital to buy new computer systems, electronic record-keeping systems and the latest medical technology.
Trinity said Goldberg stood out at Vanderbilt by leading a multi-year effort to reposition the system's clinical, research and academic units to improve profitability. He also oversaw the planning and construction of a 141-bed critical care facility and supported the development of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.
At Northwestern, he managed all support, diagnostic, therapeutic, and ambulatory care services, Trinity said.
Although Loyola passed all ownership to Trinity in July, Goldberg will be working closely with the university in his new role. Under the deal, the medical center will still be considered a teaching hospital, training residents, fellows and nurses from the medical and nursing schools that will remain owned and operated by Loyola University Chicago on the 61-acre Maywood campus.
Loyola faculty will also continue to provide medical care and research to patients.
What Trinity adds is heft. With hospitals in nine states it has more than $7 billion in annual revenue and a balance sheet with more than $3 billion in cash and investments. It pledged to contribute $75 million to a new $150 million medical research that Loyola University Chicago plans to add with proceeds from the Trinity deal.
"We are going to be getting scale while we contribute skill," Loyola president, the Rev. Michael Garanzini, said in July.
Tribune reporter
4:46 p.m. CDT, September 9, 2011
Trinity Health named a new chief executive for its recently acquired Loyola University Health System Friday.
Larry M. Goldberg, 49, chief executive of the Vanderbilt University Hospital and former vice president of operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago will take over in mid-October, Trinity said.
Trinity, based in Novi, MI., operates 47 acute care hospitals and is the nation'sfifth largest Catholic health system. It announced the purchase of the Loyola hospital business in March after Loyola University Chicago concluded a merger with a larger organization was the only way to stay competitive in an increasingly difficult business.
The deal will allow Loyola and Trinity to pool capital to buy new computer systems, electronic record-keeping systems and the latest medical technology.
Trinity said Goldberg stood out at Vanderbilt by leading a multi-year effort to reposition the system's clinical, research and academic units to improve profitability. He also oversaw the planning and construction of a 141-bed critical care facility and supported the development of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.
At Northwestern, he managed all support, diagnostic, therapeutic, and ambulatory care services, Trinity said.
Although Loyola passed all ownership to Trinity in July, Goldberg will be working closely with the university in his new role. Under the deal, the medical center will still be considered a teaching hospital, training residents, fellows and nurses from the medical and nursing schools that will remain owned and operated by Loyola University Chicago on the 61-acre Maywood campus.
Loyola faculty will also continue to provide medical care and research to patients.
What Trinity adds is heft. With hospitals in nine states it has more than $7 billion in annual revenue and a balance sheet with more than $3 billion in cash and investments. It pledged to contribute $75 million to a new $150 million medical research that Loyola University Chicago plans to add with proceeds from the Trinity deal.
"We are going to be getting scale while we contribute skill," Loyola president, the Rev. Michael Garanzini, said in July.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Docs and Hospitals, Get on Board (Everyone wins if Medicaid car is improved)
In January, we appauled Illinois lawmakers for finally passing a serious Medicaid reform bill. The state's ambitious goal: Move half of Illinois' 2.6 million Medicaid patients - that's 1 of every 5 Illinoisans into managed care by 2015. The overarching strategy is to improve health care for millions of Medicaid patients and save the state tens of millions of dollars.
As the Tribune's reported Judith Graham discovered last week, the state is pushing to enroll people in serious physical and mental disabilities in two private, HMO-style plans - Aetna Better Health and IlliniCare Health Plan.
But many doctors and hospitals have refused to join the new managed care program. The hospitals listed by Graham include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago Medical Center, Children's Memorial Hospital and Loyola University Health System. Many of these elite hospitals and physician groups are still negotiating terms and rates so all of this could/should change.
For the time being however, those hospital and doctor refusals are forcing hundreds if not thousands of poor, chronically ill patients who had been relying on them to find new doctors and make new health care arrangements.
The the complete article and more information, click here
As the Tribune's reported Judith Graham discovered last week, the state is pushing to enroll people in serious physical and mental disabilities in two private, HMO-style plans - Aetna Better Health and IlliniCare Health Plan.
But many doctors and hospitals have refused to join the new managed care program. The hospitals listed by Graham include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago Medical Center, Children's Memorial Hospital and Loyola University Health System. Many of these elite hospitals and physician groups are still negotiating terms and rates so all of this could/should change.
For the time being however, those hospital and doctor refusals are forcing hundreds if not thousands of poor, chronically ill patients who had been relying on them to find new doctors and make new health care arrangements.
The the complete article and more information, click here
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Oak Forest Hospital gets OK as outpatient center
-State Approves plan by Cook County despite protests-
After months of contentious debate, Cook County officials won approval from the state Tuesday to close Oak Forest Hospital and turn it into a regional outpatient center.
Patient advocates and union leaders who fought against the closure vowed to continue pressuring county officials, as well as suburban hospitals expected to pick up the patient load from Oak Forest, to provide quality care for the poor and uninsured.
Oak Forest will stop providing emergency room care Aug. 31, county officials said. It will continue to operate a 24 hour immediate care center as part of a concession by the county to win approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Patients who arrive at Oak Forest with critical needs will be taken to Sroger Hospital or nearby private Hospitals by ambulance, officials said.
For the entire article and more information click here
After months of contentious debate, Cook County officials won approval from the state Tuesday to close Oak Forest Hospital and turn it into a regional outpatient center.
Patient advocates and union leaders who fought against the closure vowed to continue pressuring county officials, as well as suburban hospitals expected to pick up the patient load from Oak Forest, to provide quality care for the poor and uninsured.
Oak Forest will stop providing emergency room care Aug. 31, county officials said. It will continue to operate a 24 hour immediate care center as part of a concession by the county to win approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Patients who arrive at Oak Forest with critical needs will be taken to Sroger Hospital or nearby private Hospitals by ambulance, officials said.
For the entire article and more information click here
Monday, August 8, 2011
County's plan for Oak Forest Hospital Rejected, Again
The Cook County health system's plan to transform Oak Forest Hospital into a regional outpatient clinic has again been rebuffed by the staff of the state's hospital planning board, but county officials plan to press ahead with an August 16 vote by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board on the latest version of their proposal.
The board's professional staff members have now recommended against the county plan three times this year, citing concerns that discontinuing hospital services would have an "adverse impact" on the south suburbs.
In May, the state hospital board followed its staff recommendation and denied the county's plan to turn the hospital into an outpatient clinic with primary care doctors, specialists and diagnostic testing.
The county is offering to operate a 24-hour urgent care center. The addition was a concession to patient advocates and unions that have opposed the county's plan, saying it will hurt health care for those who need it most.
The county hospital system wants to close the hospital as part of its plan to overhaul services countywide. The county had been set to close the hospital June 1. For the complete article and further information on the topic click here.
The board's professional staff members have now recommended against the county plan three times this year, citing concerns that discontinuing hospital services would have an "adverse impact" on the south suburbs.
In May, the state hospital board followed its staff recommendation and denied the county's plan to turn the hospital into an outpatient clinic with primary care doctors, specialists and diagnostic testing.
The county is offering to operate a 24-hour urgent care center. The addition was a concession to patient advocates and unions that have opposed the county's plan, saying it will hurt health care for those who need it most.
The county hospital system wants to close the hospital as part of its plan to overhaul services countywide. The county had been set to close the hospital June 1. For the complete article and further information on the topic click here.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Women's Center to Open in New Health Facility
A new medical facility featuring a spa-like women's center will open in New Lenox next May. A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week for the Provena Medical Arts Pavilion, an almost 50,000-square-foot facility which will be located on U.S. Highway 30.
The medical center will hold offices for a variety of specialties and it will consist of an all-female staff, including one of the only female urologists in teh country, will be able to provide a battery of services in one place. Hospital officials mostly touted the women's center will provide a unique and one-stop-shopping model for women's health. The facility will even have a spa-like feel where patients will be able to receive Botox injections adn massage services at the facility.
For more information, including the entire article click here
The medical center will hold offices for a variety of specialties and it will consist of an all-female staff, including one of the only female urologists in teh country, will be able to provide a battery of services in one place. Hospital officials mostly touted the women's center will provide a unique and one-stop-shopping model for women's health. The facility will even have a spa-like feel where patients will be able to receive Botox injections adn massage services at the facility.
For more information, including the entire article click here
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Mercy Hospital to Build Small Facility
Mercy Hospital is to build a smaller facility in response to comments by the state agency. Mercy Hospital and Centegra had both proposed similar projects - around 120 beds - in the McHenry market. However, the state commented that the area requires fewer beds than either of the proposed projects (approximately 70 beds). Now Mercy, which is looking to build at Three Oaks Road and Route 31, is proposing a smaller facility. The new plan calls for the construction of 70 beds in a facility that would be 90,000 sq ft. smaller than the original proposal. (The project is smaller than the 100-bed minimum required by the state for a new facility. Mercy wants the state to see the need for the hospital none the less.)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
New Boss for Cook County Hospitals
According to the Chicago Tribune, sources say execs from N.Y. chosen over interim CEO. Officials are expected Friday to annouce the hiring of Dr. Ramanathan Raju, an executive vice president at the New York City Health and Hospital Corp.
Raju will replace former CEO William Foley, who left for a job in March with Vanguard Health Systems running hospitals in the Chciago area. Raju beats out Interim CEO Terry Mason for the job. For the entire article and more information click here.
Raju will replace former CEO William Foley, who left for a job in March with Vanguard Health Systems running hospitals in the Chciago area. Raju beats out Interim CEO Terry Mason for the job. For the entire article and more information click here.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Hospitals To Help Your Medical Practice
The cost of technology in you medical office space is a lot to cover on your own. This article by Daniel Casciato from Medical Office Today, "Can You Leverage a Hospital for Technology?" suggests that you can get help from hospitals and both take on the costs. The article discusses HIEs, talking to hospitals, and the pros and cons of sharing technology. To see the article, click here.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
3 Reasons To Go Electric
The article, "3 Reasons Why Hospitals Should Adopt Electronic Health Records" explores why more and more hospitals are using electronic health records. The article states that the three reasons are to enhance efficiency, receive government instigation, and to prevent penalties. Hospitals should start to embrace implementing electronic health records because they may be able to receive $44,000 in the next five years. To read more about the the trio of reasons to use electronic health records in your medical office space click here.
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