SCOTTSDALE, AZ—When Bettina Hunt, SVP of leasing at Healthcare Management of America Inc., first started in real estate, it was a time when everyone wanted a glass patrician up in waiting rooms. Then, for a long period of time, the glass was removed so the healthcare space could have an open feel. Now, the glass is back up. Perhaps this may seem to be a small detail, but the glass patrician also represents the shift the doctor's waiting room is undergoing amid larger design changes in the healthcare space—one of the topics of discussion at this year's GlobeSt.com Healthcare Real Estate national conference. As for waiting rooms, specifically, these are basically a mixed bag.
"Some are asking for larger rooms to have more space," Hunt said. "Others who are more tech savvy are asking you to pre-register, wait in the car to be texted and want smaller rooms."
What has been interesting, according to Shawn Janus, national director of healthcare at Colliers International, is how the pandemic has changed design to be more efficient. "Digital technology has been added to waiting rooms to help solve social distancing issues."
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He added that Colliers, for one, is looking at large and small utilization of space. "I think it is coming out now that it might not necessarily be different in terms of total space usage, but it is different in the configuration."
Even before the patient gets to the tenant's space, Hunt said, they need to have a pleasant experience in the space. "There needs to be clean furniture in the common space, well lit parking and an easy to read directory."
You are right, added Matthew Bear, CEO of Bear Real Estate Advisors. "I can get locked in on the financial performance of a building, but it is about the patient… They are stakeholders," he said.
The team also talked about how to get the right tenant mix, a topic covered in a previous story, and said that adding tenant mix in a space starts with conversations with existing tenants. Ask them such questions as, "Where do your patients go? Would it make sense if they were your next door neighbor?" she said. "Get your leads and go from there. The tenants have to all work well together."
Check out other stories you might have missed from the event below.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
