Sule Aygoren Carranza is managing editor of Real Estate Forum.

NEW YORK CITY-Cushman & Wakefield has formed a formal unit dedicated to firms involved in various sectors of the healthcare industry. The Healthcare Practice Group will provide services for senior housing and healthcare investments; hospitals and healthcare practice groups; healthcare payors, plans, and specialty services; and medical and academic properties.

The creation of the Healthcare Practice Group, says Norman LeZotte, a C&W managing director and co-chair of the HPG, was actually spurred by its clients. "We had several clients that were in the seniors housing business that we were providing a variety of services for," says the Atlanta-based executive, adding that these firms were scattered throughout the US and Canada. It was these clients that brought us the idea of formalizing the services they already provide in a group. "Cushman & Wakefield took that idea and ran with it."

In addition to acquisitions and dispositions, the HPG will handle property management, debt and equity placement arrangement, valuation and consulting work, and corporate services for its clients. C&W provided all of those services before, says LeZotte, but this time, "operators and developers and investors can have a one-stop shop and deal with a team that's dedicated to healthcare.