Welltower, Johns Hopkins team on elderly care

Feb. 23--Welltower Inc. announced Wednesday a new collaboration with a nationally known research and teaching hospital that's aimed at developing wellness programs and care facilities to serve elderly patients.

Officials from the Toledo-based real estate investment trust said the new partnership with Johns Hopkins Medicine should show there's more to the company than buying and selling buildings.

"We see our healthcare real estate platform as delivering value well beyond the brick and mortar," said Thomas DeRosa, Welltower's chief executive officer.

Welltower rolled out the new partnership on the same day it reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 financial results.

The company said net income for the quarter was $333 million -- nearly three times higher than in the fourth quarter of 2015 -- as Welltower reported gains of more than $200 million on the sale of real estate.

Officials said funds from operations -- the primary financial metric by which Welltower measures its success -- were down slightly in the quarter to $401.5 million, or $1.10 a share.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, funds from operations were $402.4 million, or $1.13 a share.

For the year, funds from operations were up 7 percent to $1.6 billion, or $4.55 per share.

Mr. DeRosa said Welltower is starting 2017 in a strong position that's getting stronger. He said the company has been focusing on its efficiency, having introduced a new organization structure, and expects to cut $30 million in its general and administrative costs between 2016 and 2017.

Asked whether the cost cutting meant job losses, Welltower said it had eliminated positions of chief operating officer and chief investment officer.

On a conference call with investors and analysts, Mr. DeRosa said health care delivery is shifting away from a hospital-centric model in favor of outpatient treatment, more specialized rehabilitation centers, and specialized senior care networks.

"In order for this transition to be successful, real estate needs to have a seat at the table," Mr. DeRosa said. "A key element of Welltower's strategy is to be the partner of choice for the major academic and regional health systems across the U.S. As they invest in building more advanced and robust outpatient networks, we intend to be their partner and connect our leading senior, dementia, and post-acute care platform to these systems to help them better manage their patient populations."

Mercedes Kerr, Welltower's executive vice president of business development, said the partnership with Johns Hopkins will give Welltower access to the Baltimore hospital's network of experts as it seeks more innovative models for the delivery of care.

"Together we will explore best practices and design infrastructure alternatives to offer better care at lower costs," she said.

A company spokesman for Welltower said a monetary value has not been assigned to the initiatives stemming from the collaboration agreement with Johns Hopkins Medicine and that Welltower would not be disclosing any specifics regarding the agreement itself.

Welltower shares closed Wednesday at $67.70, up about 1 percent.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at [email protected] or 419-724-6134.

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Welltower Inc., Johns Hopkins University, elderly health, tyrel linkhorn, Thomas DeRosa

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