At the same time, Norvin negotiated with the developer to sell off its share of the operating company and brought in St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System as a new partner. The Houston-based healthcare provider acquired 51% of PMC’s operating partnership, while the remaining 49% is held by the physicians.

“In addition to simply acquiring the real estate, we soon recognized that we could add even greater value by combining PMC’s operations with those of St. Luke’s,” Livingston says.

Located at 4600 E. Sam Houston Parkway, PMC opened in April 2007. The facility includes 53 private patient rooms, four intensive care rooms and four intermediate care rooms. It also includes eight operating rooms with complete surgical suites encompassing an invasive cardiac cath/angio suite with accommodations for open-heart surgery and neuro/spine surgery.

In addition, PMC offers a fully staffed laboratory with comprehensive imaging, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and radiology. The facility also features diagnostic services and physical therapy, along with a pharmacy and an emergency department.

Livingston tells GlobeSt.com that Norvin Properties wanted to get involved in PMC for several reasons. “We thought the physicians who ran this hospital were the cream of the crop,” he explains. “And, the facility is nearly at capacity in terms of the beds occupied. Moreover, we saw the writing on the wall in terms of this new healthcare legislation and its impact on physician-owned hospitals. We saw future growth and opportunity for the venture.”

Livingston points to a new provision the healthcare reform act that states that no new physician-owned specialty hospitals can open after Dec. 31, 2010, and existing physician-owned facilities cannot be expanded.

As a result, many owners of physician-owned hospitals – both physicians and development partners – are looking for an exit strategy that will allow them to salvage their real estate investment while continuing to serve patients.

In addition to St. Luke’s and PMC, other tenants in Norvin’s portfolio include: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, Memorial Hermann Health System, HCA Inc., the University of Texas (UT) Health System and DaVita Inc.