Publisher’s Letter (May 2007)

One of the good guys

BOB ROSENTHAL HAS BEEN AN INDUSTRY LEADER

Dear Reader:

One of the pillars of quality journalism is objectivity. And, here at Healthcare Real Estate Insights^™, we bend over backward maintain our objectivity. We don’t play favorites; if you see a lot of coverage of a certain person or company, it’s purely because we believe that the coverage is of value and interest to our readers.

But, if you will permit me, I am going to shamelessly violate that objectivity for a few minutes.

Starting on Page 9, you will find an article about the retirement of Bob Rosenthal, founder of Pacific Medical Buildings (PMB). Let me be completely biased and lacking in objectivity when I say this: Bob is not only an industry leader, he’s a great guy.

Bob was one of the first people we interviewed for an article back in 2003 when we launched this newsletter. He didn’t balk and say, “Healthcare Real Estate what?!” On the contrary, I think he was tickled that someone was finally paying close attention to his industry. From Day One, he was a wonderful source, supporter, mentor and friend.

Even back then – when one of PMB’s medical office buildings probably had more tenants than HREI^™ had subscribers – Bob was an accessible and enthusiastic source, helping to inform and educate us about this fascinating, complex business. In fact, he was so energetic over the phone that I was shocked to learn later that he was a bit, well, older than I expected. (Sorry to bring that up, Bob. But, hey, we should all be so dynamic when we’re in our 70s!)

Bob was one of our very first subscribers, a panelist on our very first audio conference in 2004 and a panelist on one of our first Webinars in 2006. He never failed to come through whether we were looking for advice, an interview for a story or a contributed guest column (back when we still had space for guest columns).

When we formed our first Editorial Advisory Board in 2006, Bob was an obvious choice. He instantly agreed and has been a valuable contributor ever since.

Ironically, I’ve only met Bob face to face a few times; we’re based in the Minneapolis area and he left the Midwest for his beloved San Diego years ago. So ours has been a long distance relationship. There have been many phone conversations, but every face-to-face meeting has been a special treat.

In particular, I recall how two or three years ago Bob and his wife, Sandra, were passing through the Twin Cities on the way to a school reunion in Wisconsin. There was no compelling business reason for us to get together; I wasn’t working on a story and Bob wasn’t seeking publicity. But he graciously invited me to have breakfast at their hotel before he and Sandra left for Wisconsin.

What followed was a delightful breakfast with Bob and Sandra. I soaked it up as Bob regaled me with amazing stories of the “old days” of healthcare real estate, and Sandra was equally charming. It was a classic Bob moment. I left wishing that I had known him longer – and that I had been taking notes, because our “off-the-record” chat would have made a great story!

The healthcare real estate industry is losing one of its greatest champions, one of its most successful practitioners and a one heck of a nice guy. Bob, I’m glad you’re going to stay involved in the business even in retirement. We need more guys like you. The pleasure has been all mine.

Murray W. Wolf, Publisher