Members of the Meridian team including CEO Mike Conn, VP Business Development Julissa Tellez Buchwald, and Michael Arvin, Managing Director, Strategy & Development attended the annual Colliers National Healthcare Conference in Washington, DC, on October 12-13.
Thanks go out to Shawn Janus, National Director, and the Colliers Healthcare team for hosting a wonderful and insightful conference. This year’s event offered a platform for networking and connecting with healthcare professionals from across the country, along with insightful presentations from industry leaders. We were excited to listen to Ford Koles on the Advisory Board panel, presenting a comprehensive overview of the healthcare industry, and Mike Hargrave from Revista, providing an update on medical real estate. Additionally, there were thought-provoking panels focused on top-of-mind topics, including artificial intelligence and its implications for providers, developers, and investors.
The presentation from Ford Koles was a reminder of how the nation’s healthcare organizations are still recovering from the COVID pandemic and the challenges they continue to face. We were given case studies and examples of how our hospital and health system clients are looking to healthcare real estate professionals to be problem solvers. Prior to the pandemic, many hospitals and health systems were in a strong position financially, and with a low interest rate environment could look to fund projects regularly. The outlook presented was somber and will require all our problem-solving skills to be more strategic and thoughtful as we look to provide solutions for our clients.
The consensus from the capital markets panel was that interest rates may remain higher for longer. While there may be a pause in hikes from the Federal Reserve, we should anticipate rates to remain high into 2024. The mantra “Survive to 2025” was shared among many of the attendees as we look to grow the development pipeline and be strategic with acquisitions. The Colliers National Healthcare Conference has garnered a reputation for excellent speakers and thought leaders in both healthcare policy and healthcare real estate. This year’s location in Washington, DC provided access to many of these resources and the venue in The Wharf District was superb.
Author: Michael Arvin