Conference Coverage

LOS ANGELES — Healthcare providers are taking cues from the retail and hospitality industries and keeping an open mind. That’s according to panelists at InterFace Conference Group’s Healthcare Real Estate West conference, held March 2 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel. The biggest lessons the healthcare industry has internalized, panelists noted, was making the customer king, remaining flexible and embracing technology — even if the future of that technology is uncertain. “The buzzword today is omnichannel,” said Andy Hoover, real estate manager for the California region of Providence Health and Services and a participant in the “Impact of Consolidation and Changing Healthcare Delivery” panel. “It’s more like retail today. It’s a customer-focused delivery model — essentially a retail delivery model. It’s a blend of physical and digital components. It’s really not what you put into it. It’s what the customer gets out of it and what they’ll pay for.” The healthcare system of the future is looking to integrate mobile apps that allow customers to refill prescriptions, make appointments, view test results and potentially even hold virtual visits with their physicians. Healthcare systems are also moving away from hospitals and campuses with long-held, negative stigmas surrounding them. “The medical office …

Even though the current U.S. economic expansion has lasted 20 months longer than the post-World War II average of 58 months between recessions, Kennesaw State University economics professor Roger Tutterow does not expect a recession in 2016. Tutterow outlined the reasons he expects economic growth to continue for at least the next 12 months during a speech at the InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 3. “When we think about the economy, from 2007 to 2013 we went through a credit crunch and a correction in housing and commercial real estate almost without precedent in my professional life,” Tutterow said. “We stand here today, and as hard as it is to believe, we are now halfway through the seventh year of this economic recovery. By the book, the recession of 2008-09 ended in June of 2009.” The current economic expansion has lasted 78 months, but it has been the weakest recovery since World War II, according to the Wall Street Journal, which points out that while there have been highs and lows in individual quarters, overall the economy has failed to break out of its roughly 2 percent growth pattern for more than …

By Nellie Day LOS ANGELES — The days of large hospitals and medical campuses may be numbered, according to panelists at InterFace’s Healthcare Real Estate West 2015, which was held Feb. 25 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The sixth-annual event drew more than 220 attendees. The panel discussion topics ranged from the Affordable Care Act to cutting-edge technologies to the next big plays for healthcare REITs. While the topics were varied and expansive, all roads led to a central issue: the decentralization of patient care. “The days of providers or healthcare systems thinking they can control patient movement are gone,” said Dr. Setul Patel, CEO of Texas-based Neighbors Health System and a “Hospital and Healthcare System Perspective” panelist. “It’s absurd. Patients nowadays can go where they get good care at a good price. The biggest frustration is how inefficient big healthcare systems are. They need to provide a better quality of care at a cheaper rate and in a better fashion.” That’s what Patel and his healthcare system are attempting to do. Neighbors Health System is a regional emergency medicine healthcare delivery model that provides care through free-standing emergency facilities. Most of its centers are located in …

By Nellie Day Technological advancements in healthcare and daily living are having a profound impact on the seniors housing industry but not without some growing pains, panelists asserted at InterFace’s Seniors Housing West conference, held Feb. 26 at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles. On the healthcare side, providers and family members want to do what they can to keep their loved ones active and well. On the entertainment side, many seniors want the comforts of home — and Wi-FI is one of them. “I love the idea of technology in healthcare for our clients,” said Dana Wollschlager, vice president of senior living consulting firm Plante Moran Living Forward headquartered in Southfield, Mich., and a speaker on the “Technology and Operations” panel. “I love it most importantly because we’re able to drive better outcomes for the residents we’re serving, but it does bring additional revenue and cut costs. It results in 25 percent fewer turnover in our communities. That equates to revenue not lost. These are huge numbers as we work to drive net operating income and make these numbers work even better. This is the low-hanging fruit.” The technology affecting seniors includes everything from surveillance cameras and sensors mounted …

LOS ANGELES — The seniors housing industry needs to focus more on the health and happiness of residents and less on the real estate aspect of the business if profits are going to be sustained for the long term, said Maragret Wylde, president and CEO of research and advisory firm ProMatura Group and keynote speaker at last Thursday’s InterFace Seniors Housing West conference. Approximately 250 industry professionals attended the event held Feb. 26 at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles. “We really don’t need to be selling the real estate,” said Wylde, whose Oxford, Miss.-based research firm specializes in understanding what consumers want and are willing to pay for, specifically persons age 50 and above. “We don’t need to put any more into our communities. We don’t need any more amenities.” From Wylde’s point of view, the importance of a quality operator can’t be overstated. Bidding Frenzy Continues Many of the day’s panelists agreed that real estate aspect of senior care has gotten a bit out of control recently, creating prime conditions for a seller’s market ripe with hungry institutional investors. Some also wondered if this flurry of activity might soon lead to overbuilding in many of the nation’s hottest …

LOS ANGELES — The spotlight is shining brightly on those who can successfully execute entertainment retail — essentially a full-circle experience that provides shoppers with more than just a physical item. That’s the consensus of panelists at InterFace’s “Entertainment Experience Evolution” conference, held Feb. 18-20, at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. While certain material items will always be highly prized commodities among the crowd with discretionary spending, today’s consumers have come to expect more than just a cash register when they hit the popular shopping destinations. “In a few years, you’ll be able to buy almost anything online,” said Howard Samuels, president of Samuels & Co. and a speaker on the “Retailers Who Are Thinking Ahead” panel. “But you can’t get an entertainment experience. It’s something unique you have to invest in at your property. One thing people talk about with entertainment is emotions. Sometimes you have to think outside the dollars and cents and pro formas. Entertainment retail is like a motion picture — you have to grab emotion.” Many of today’s hottest concepts do this by capitalizing on nostalgia, fun and what’s become known as the “lifestyle.” “Many consumers, like Millennials, have become hard to please,” said …