Feature Story: Micro-hospitals like high-visibility retail locations

Emerus exec’s motto is ‘See me a thousand times before you need me once’

By John B. Mugford

Dudley Carpenter, senior VP of real estate with Emerus Holdings was interviewed May 21 by Paul Heiserman, associate director in the Columbus, Ohio, office of JLL Healthcare, as part of the 2019 ICSC RECon conference in Las Vegas. (HREI photo)

Certainly, in this age of the “retailization” of healthcare delivery, finding convenient, highly visible locations in areas with “good demographics” is as important as ever for those planning new medical facilities.

Even so, one professional who has worked in retail development and now works for a nationally based, for-profit healthcare provider cannot emphasize enough how important location – and visibility – actually are in this new era.

“I tell my team and my any new brokerage teams (we work with) that … when we’re looking for sites, I want you to see me a thousand times before you need me once,” said Dudley Carpenter, senior VP of real estate with The Woodlands, Texas-based Emerus Holdings, which partners with health systems nationwide on the development and operation of small-format hospitals, often referred to as micro-hospitals.

“And when you need me, I have to be top of mind,” he added. “We have to have that visibility and exposure, as that’s what’s really important to us.”

Mr. Dudley was a speaker at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RECon global convention held May 19-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For the first time in its history, RECon, which typically attracts 35,000 attendees, included a segment called the Health and Wellness Center – kind of a conference within a conference – to bring health and wellness tenants together with retail real estate decisionmakers.

His presentation was titled, “Emerging Brands in Healthcare Delivery: A Retail Approach.” Moderating the presentation and asking Mr. Dudley a number of questions was Paul Heiserman, associate director in the Columbus, Ohio, office of JLL Healthcare, part of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL).

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