PHILADELPHIA and TOLEDO, Ohio, Jan. 13,
2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Toledo-based real estate
investment trust Welltower (NYSE: WELL) and Philadelphia-based Thomas
Jefferson University and Jefferson Health (Jefferson)
announced today their intention to create a long-term strategic
partnership that will transform Jefferson's real estate portfolio
and open new opportunities to address social determinants of health
for aging populations across their shared geographic footprint.
Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by
both parties, Welltower and Jefferson would create a joint venture
whereby Welltower would acquire a stake in certain real estate
assets of Jefferson, enabling
Jefferson to reduce some of its
fixed asset investments and redeploy the capital to other clinical
and academic strategic areas.
In addition to the joint venture, Welltower would help
Jefferson accelerate its
ambulatory care growth strategy through capital support and its
best-in-class predictive analytics to guide future real estate
investments based on where Jefferson clinical services would best serve
the public.
"This partnership with Welltower will be a crucial step forward
in achieving our 'healthcare with no address' innovation strategy,"
said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA,
President of Thomas Jefferson
University and CEO of Jefferson Health. "By partnering with
the best companies across varied sectors, we can bring world-class
healthcare from the hospital to the home. We're thrilled that the
great team at Welltower is looking to Jefferson to advance our shared ambitious aim
of creating healthier communities."
Additionally, Jefferson's
clinicians would provide care at the Welltower senior housing,
assisted living and memory care communities throughout the region
as well as future ones the organizations could build together. This
would mean Jefferson clinicians
could manage residents' full continuum of care – from pre-acute to
acute and now post-acute.
This would mark a first-of-its-kind partnership between
Welltower and a major academic health system.
"This landmark joint venture partners Welltower, the leading
health and wellness delivery platform, with one of the largest and
most innovative health systems in the
United States," said Thomas J.
DeRosa, Chairman and CEO of Welltower. "Welltower and
Jefferson are well aligned in our
thinking that much of the current built environment for healthcare
delivery cannot meet the promise of technological innovation and
value-based care. Jefferson, a
leader in delivering care outside the hospital walls, together with
Welltower, will work to ensure that Jefferson's healthcare delivery infrastructure
will deliver care more efficiently, cost effectively and with
improved outcomes."
Welltower and Jefferson foresee
residents at their facilities being tracked by Jefferson clinicians through wearable devices,
alert messaging integrated into electronic medical records,
mobile-enabled communications and wellness tracking to reduce some
of the social determinants that negatively impact health
outcomes.
"These living facilities could truly provide healthcare services
with the future in mind," Klasko added. "An environment where you
wake up and your home monitor device has collated the data from
your wearable device and medical history and cross referenced that
data with the day's pollen count to make recommendations on how you
should manage your day. This is what we mean when we talk about
Jefferson using creative strategic
partnerships and innovation to change healthcare."
Jefferson and Welltower
anticipate that a definitive agreement will be executed in the
coming 90 days.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release may contain "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.
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 Welltower's expectations
discussed in the forward-looking statements. This may be a
result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those
factors discussed in Welltower's reports filed from time to time
with the SEC. 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.
About Welltower
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL),
an S&P 500 company headquartered
in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health
care infrastructure. Welltower 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 properties concentrated in major, high growth markets
in the United States, Canada and the United
Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing, post-acute communities and
outpatient medical properties. For more information,
visit www.welltower.com.
About Jefferson Health
Jefferson
Health, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, is reimagining
health care in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson's dedicated team of doctors, nurses,
health professionals and staff provides a range of primary to
highly-specialized care through 14 hospitals (seven are
Magnet®-designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence), more than
40 outpatient and urgent care locations, the NCI-designated Sidney
Kimmel Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation and the JeffConnect®
telemedicine program. For 2019-2020, Thomas
Jefferson University Hospitals is ranked among the nation's
best hospitals in eight specialities by U.S. News & World
Report. Jefferson Health's mission is to improve the lives of
patients in the communities it is privileged to serve through safe,
effective, equitable, compassionate care.
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SOURCE Welltower Inc.