Welltower Announces Strategic Relationship With Johns Hopkins Medicine

PR Newswire

TOLEDO, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Welltower Inc. (NYSE: HCN) today announced a strategic collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine intended to promote innovative care and wellness for the aging population and to create programs that increase quality, value and connectivity across the health care continuum.

The collaboration between Welltower – whose operating platform supports post-acute care, independent, assisted living and memory care facilities for more than 200,000 elderly residents and state-of-the-art outpatient medical facilities handling more than 16 million patient visits annually – and Johns Hopkins Medicine, one of the world's pre-eminent patient care, research and teaching institutions, recognizes the need for health systems and senior care providers to work together to address demographic, disease and cost challenges facing our nation's health care system.

Initially, Welltower and Johns Hopkins Medicine will explore joint initiatives in areas including: measuring quality outcomes in assisted living and memory care; educational programs for patients and care givers; and sharing of health and wellness and business expertise, information, best practices and research. The collaboration will also assess health care market opportunities and investments in modern, efficient infrastructure to deliver better care at a lower cost. Mercedes Kerr, Welltower's Executive Vice President - Business Development & Relationship Management will lead the company's team in assessing collaborative initiatives and opportunities with Johns Hopkins Medicine across the company's seniors housing, post-acute care and outpatient medical portfolio.

"Americans ages 65 to 85 and up are the fastest growing segment of our population and the largest consumers of health care," said Thomas J. DeRosa, Welltower's Chief Executive Officer. "Caring for the frail elderly and people with dementia and other diseases of aging present both clinical and economic challenges for health systems. Our collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine will advance innovation to keep this at-risk population healthy, socially engaged and out of the high cost hospital."

Mark Shaver, Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Alliances for Johns Hopkins Medicine, agrees, "This collaboration builds on our shared vision for modern, efficient health care infrastructure. The changing health care delivery landscape underscores the need for a streamlined healthcare continuum to raise the quality of care, shift care to appropriate, lower cost settings and connect caregivers and patients as part of a patient-centered, networked system."

About Welltower

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:HCN), an S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. The company invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower™, a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns interests in approximately 1,400 properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties. More information is available at www.welltower.com.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When Welltower uses words such as "may," "will," "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. In particular, these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those relating to Welltower's investment opportunities and plans with Johns Hopkins Medicine. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause Welltower's actual results to differ materially from its expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. This may be a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the status of the economy; the status of capital markets, including availability and cost of capital; issues facing the health care industry; the cooperation and agreement of Welltower and Johns Hopkins Medicine; unanticipated difficulties and/or expenditures relating to future investments or acquisitions; Welltower's ability to maintain its qualification as a REIT; and other risks described in Welltower's Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Finally, Welltower undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements.