New healthcare facilities put big money into wellness features

Image of Fifth Third Bank from dukerealty.com.

CLEVELAND - Eskenazi Health has seen a 7 percent increase in inpatient volume, and all it had to do was open a new, feature-laden campus in Indianapolis to do that.

Officials from Eskenazi, speaking at the Building Owners and Managers Association conference in Cleveland on Thursday, said the health system also saw a 7 percent increase in the number of births.

Associate Vice President of Facilities Thomas Ringham said one reason for an increase in numbers is that people were waiting to use the new facility prior to opening in December 2013.

The new Eskenazi Health Fifth Third Bank Building, formerly Wishard Memorial Hospital, got its name from Sidney and Lois Eskenazi, who donated $40 million towards the estimated $754 million project, and from the Fifth Third Bank, which gave $5 million, according to Ringham.

[Also: See how one hospital went green]

“Our foundation raised $92 million,” he said, while staff kicked in another $2 million.

The design featured open-concept offices, including space occupied by the C-Suite executives.

It also features a Sky Farm where patients, staff and members of the community can get fresh produce and learn how to prepare it. It’s part of a new hospital focus on community wellness and fitness that’s becoming a big part of new healthcare real estate, according to moderator P.J. Camp of Hammond Hanlon Camp in New York City.

NorthBay Healthcare in California is building a new, three-story $60 million wellness center that includes an aquatic center, running track and diagnostic imaging, according to Facilities, Project and Procurement Manager Lisa Thomas.

The center focuses on cancer patients, but is open to the community. Physician’s can also prescribe use of the wellness center, she said.

Follow Healthcare Finance on Twitter and LinkedIn.

“You want cancer patients to see the energy and feel that sense of energy and well-being,” Thomas said.

Part of the track extends over the pool, she said. It doesn’t look like a typical, commercial gym.

“Every floor has both wellness and cancer care,” she said. “It’s a more expensive way to do it.”

There’s also a retail element that’s off the main thoroughfare, said Jarrod Daddis, executive managing director of NexCore Group in Denver. NexCore developed the project.

NorthBay has a long-term ground lease on the building. NorthBay got out of the real estate business after its healthcare portfolio started to lose value 10 years ago, Thomas said. The existing buildings were sold to help raise capital.

Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN