Peter Bulgarelli, COO for Jones Lang LaSalle's Healthcare Solutions Group, said this was not the first joint venture of its type, but the arrangement is still extremely rare in terms of healthcare industry outsourcing.
As evidence, he cited the 2010 Modern Healthcare Outsourcing Survey that indicated that 1,210 healthcare facilities outsourced their emergency department operations in 2009, but only 177 did so with their facility operations and equipment maintenance.
While the rest of the business world has been “shedding noncore operations” for the 15 to 10 years, Bulgarelli said healthcare has been slow to do so and deals such as the one with Beaumont will “provide a wave of opportunity” for Jones Lang LaSalle.
“We're very excited,” he said. “We think it's one of the biggest growth areas for the firm.”
In the 2010 Modern Healthcare Construction and Design Survey, Jones Lang LaSalle ranked second on the list of top development companies based on the $855 million in projects it oversaw in 2009.
According to Jim Safran, president of the joint venture, Beaumont will have about $80 million in construction work in 2011—including some renovations that were put on the shelf in 2008. He also said that a complete assessment of Beaumont properties will be done, from which a list of energy-management projects will be identified.
Safran added that the joint venture was not necessarily driven or directly incentivized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the healthcare reform law was an influence.
