Healthcare

The Water Fountain Evolves

photograph of drinking fountain for water bottles

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, James R. Hagerty reveals a growing trend in water fountain use:  people are carrying reusable water bottles, and instead of drinking from water fountains, they just want to refill their water bottles, but the basic drinking fountain that has been a steady seller for decades isn’t working well for these people.  The problem that arises from the traditional water fountain is the awkward angle they have to hold the bottle to refill it- which results in wet shoes or clothes from the splashing water.

Keeping this new water fountain user in mind, new types of fountains, designed to refill bottles have been introduced.  According to Hagerty, “water is more popular as Americans reduce consumption of high-calorie soft drinks.  Tap and bottled water accounted for around 30% of the typical American’s liquid intake last year, up from 16% two decades before.  Nearly half of that water came from taps, including drinking fountains”.  So, this new fountain, developed specifically for refilling bottles, couldn’t have been introduced at a better time than now.  Also, with more people choosing to reuse and recycle, this water fountain provides an environmentally friendly alternative to tossing another plastic water bottle in a landfill.

This new trend is sweeping across college campuses, so Muhlenberg College began buying Elkay fountains after students campaigned against what they saw as plastic-bottle waste.  David Rabold, capital projects manager at Muhlenberg, says “sales of bottle water on campus have fallen 90% since the EZH2O fountains were installed”.  If this trend is reaching hundreds of colleges and universities, then it won’t be long before it sweeps across corporate America.  Commercial real estate investors could take advantage of this trend by offering these new bottle-filling water fountains in new construction and renovations to attract a new breed of environmentally and health conscious workers.

Raleigh Metro Area- Fastest-Growing City in America

Raleigh

According to a Forbes article, “Raleigh, North Carolina has grown 2.2% since 2011 and 47.8% since 2000” and according to census data, the Raleigh metro area is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. since 2000.  These statistics aren’t surprising to those that have lived there since the late 1990s, since they experienced the growth first-hand.  As a commercial painting contractor, A&K Painting serves the entire Raleigh metro area.

Despite this amazing growth, Raleigh still has a relatively low population density in its urban core. The city has also retained its housing affordability, with housing costs that are half or less than in “cool”, slow-growth cities, such as Boston, San Francisco or New York.  Raleigh also has the advantage of being located in the Sunbelt, so people are choosing to take advantage of the mild winters and extended summers.  Also, the cities’ population will most likely continue to grow in the future, because its child population alone has expanded 45% since 2000, compared to 2% nationally, while cities such as New York and Los Angeles had a decline in their children population.

This could be an opportune time for CRE investors to take a hard look at Raleigh, since they are experiencing exponential growth which doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon; especially since the outlook for commercial real estate growth is on the upswing.

Workplace Design Helps Improve Bottom Line

A&K Painting Color Design Pros

Companies are beginning to forego the traditional cubicle style offices, and instead choosing to create open and shared spaces, since they will require much less real estate needed per worker, therefore increasing their overall profits.  Many employees that work in these types of offices believe it’s the combination of flexibility and functionality that make them work so well.  Even employees that work remotely prefer the openness of these offices to their own home and according to a Business Insider article, “72 percent of workers said that an office is the best place to interact with colleagues and access tools and technology”.  So these collaboration-driven offices are not only great for improving a company’s bottom line, but also for the well-being of the employees.

Companies do however, need someone to develop and create ideas, so that these open, airy offices can come to life.  This is where design professionals and A&K Painting Company come in; design professionals will provide ideas and sketches of how an office can potentially look and feel, and A&K Painting Company will make those ideas happen.  We have many years of repaint experience, transforming spaces from tired and old into fresh and new, and we can provide vitality and energy through custom finishes and office layouts.  A&K Painting Company can bring new life into a business environment by recreating an office space to meet a company’s particular needs.  In doing so, national award winning A&K Painting Company can positively affect the company’s bottom line and potentially improve the well-being of their employees in the process.

Small Business and Essential Health Benefits

Small Business Health Care Reform

The federal government recently issued a 149-page rule that lists the essential health benefits that insurance plans will have to offer beginning in 2014, and many small business owners are concerned that this will raise insurance costs. Their main concerns are due to the added coverage for services that aren’t currently offered by most plans in the market, such as mental health and substance abuse coverage, which will most likely increase insurance premiums.

The rule also defines four tiers of coverage that will be offered to small businesses and individuals through the insurance exchanges. According to a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services news release, “Beginning in 2014, plans that cover essential health benefits must cover a certain percentage of costs, known as actuarial value or “metal levels.” These levels are 60 percent for a bronze plan, 70 percent for a silver plan, 80 percent for a gold plan, and 90 percent for a platinum plan”. All of these changes are a lot to digest for small businesses, and many have started the evaluation of the requirements.

 

Healthcare Real Estate Trends to Watch

Healthcare and Medical Center Real Estate

Duke Realty owns and operates approximately 142 million rentable square feet of industrial and office assets, including medical office, in 18 major U.S. cities and their healthcare team offers planning, development, ownership and facility management services to hospitals and physician groups.  They recently posted an article listing their six healthcare real estate trends to watch in 2013 and they believe the “the healthcare industry and healthcare real estate have changed dramatically in the past several years.  Healthcare reform, the recession, lower reimbursements and other issues should continue to drive changes, including new uses of medical office space; creative, new partnerships; and an increase in monetization of outpatient facilities”.  The following trends are what Duke Realty expects hospitals and health systems should see in the coming years:

  • Higher-acuity care will increasingly move to medical office buildings (MOBS).
    • MOBs cost less to build, operate and maintain than hospitals.
    • These could improve consumer’s access to healthcare since they will be in suburban areas.
    • “Real estate implications:  These outpatient facilities will need to be designed to a higher, more sophisticated standard than typical MOBs”.
  • Freestanding emergency departments (FEDs) will be used in new ways.
    • According to Don Dunbar, Executive Vice President of Duke Realty, “More and more, we’re seeing for-profit ED companies competing for the 7/11, Walgreen’s and McDonald’s sites”.  Basically for-profit companies are targeting high-traffic, retail-orientated sites.
    • FEDs are not necessarily being created as the first step toward a future hospital campus.
  • Partnering will increase.
    • Partnering will increase so hospitals can broaden their range of services and improve quality of care.
    • Brand-companies will benefit by extending their brands into new markets.
    • “Real estate implications:  New, expanded or renovated “branded” facilities might need to accommodate these partnerships”.
  • The case for hospital-driven monetization will keep getting stronger.
    • Duke Realty says “there continues to be tremendous investor demand for MOBs and plenty of capital is available,[so] this could be the year…[for] an increase in hospital-driven monetization of MOBs”.
    • Money generated from monetization could help fund hospital mergers and acquisitions.
    • “Real estate implications:  More MOBS might be coming on the market”.
  • Repurposing will expand.
    • Offices, retail, industrial space and even grocery stores will be repurposed for medical use and become a prevalent healthcare strategy.
    • “Real estate implications:  There’s still plenty of potential new life for former retail and office buildings”.
  • Compliance will become even more vital.
    • Due to the healthcare reform that passed in 2010, “healthcare providers are now required to self-report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) any violations” of the new legislative laws.  If providers don’t self-report, they could be fined, face prison or be forced to repay disqualified claims.
    • “Real estate implications:  More and more healthcare providers may decide to minimize their compliance risk by monetizing their MOBs”.