SAN DIEGO—As we move from what has been a hospital-centric health system into a true healthcare- delivery system, we need to develop more and different types of access points for patients, Scripps Health's CEO Chris Van Gorder tells GlobeSt.com. Scripps and Irvine Co. recently announced the opening of Scripps HealthExpress, a new retail health clinic designed to offer convenient health and wellness services at an Irvine Co. office complex called the Plaza in University City, a neighborhood of La Jolla here. The 1,691-square-foot facility features a medical office operated by Scripps Clinic with four exam rooms and offers a wide variety of medical and wellness services on an appointment and walk-in basis. 

Early next year, Irvine Co. will open a new concept called Kinetic, which expands on the effort. It will offer healthcare through the partnership with Scripps, corporate wellness and fitness under one roof. It's a concept the company is also pursuing in its Newport Beach and Silicon Valley workplace communities.

The new La Jolla center offers a range of health-care services provided by Scripps Clinic caregivers. Services will include physicals, diet and nutrition counseling, disease-prevention programs, treatment and evaluation for minor conditions, health screenings, immunizations, prescription refills and diagnostic tests.

GlobeSt.com spoke exclusively with Van Gorder about the concept of bringing healthcare to the workplace and where it might go next.

GlobeSt.com: What's the philosophy behind bringing healthcare facilities closer to—and in this case, pretty much inside—the workplace? 

Van Gorder: As we move from what has been a hospital-centric health system into a true healthcare delivery system, we need to develop more and different types of access points for our patients. In this case, we have developed Scripps HealthExpress in a workplace community to support wellness, fitness and primary-care-related health issues.

GlobeSt.com: In what other settings are we going to see healthcare facilities crop up where they haven't been before?

Van Gorder: I believe we are going to see a significant growth in access sites that will be developed for the specific community they are serving—employer sites, malls and community centers, urgent-care centers, extended-hour centers, fitness centers, digital healthcare and others. Frankly, the sky is the limit in terms of innovation in this area.

GlobeSt.com: How do you see healthcare evolving from a real estate perspective?

Van Gorder: Hospitals and major healthcare providers have historically wanted to own sites so they could build large, complex (and expensive) health centers. That will certainly continue, but I believe that there will be a significant increase in leasing space for small sites designed to be more affordable and easily accessible during the hours patients want to be seen. The leases might initially be short so the provider can close and move to another location if that site does not work out economically.  

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about Scripps and its relationship to real estate?

Van Gorder: Our real estate team has become a strategic partner. Building the expertise and data systems to assist in locating the correct locations for health centers—being experts in negotiations—and being experts in building out cost-effective but patient-centered delivery sites has become extremely important.