This case study was published in the 2022 REIT Industry ESG Report, which details the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and features 32 case studies showcasing REIT leadership and ESG innovation from a variety of sectors. The report serves as a practical tool for shareholders and stakeholders to assess the scale and impact of the REIT industry's ESG commitments and initiatives. Applicable footnotes and/or citations for this case study are available in the full report.
Broadening Engagement to Enrich Employee Health, Wellbeing, and Culture
As a trusted owner and operator of medical office properties, Healthcare Realty recognizes the importance of a company culture that emphasizes good health, the pursuit of wellness, and provides a supportive community for its employees.
“Healthcare Realty’s wellness challenges inspired me to focus on self-care and spend time hiking with my family. I enjoyed competing in challenges through the MoveSpring app, feeling a sense of accomplishment, elevating my heartbeat, and improving my mental and physical state.”
-Ruth Valle, Administrative Assistant, Fountain Valley, CA, Healthcare Realty
Over the course of the pandemic, Healthcare Realty embarked on a comprehensive process to assess and enhance overall employee satisfaction, with a focus on culture and values, health and wellbeing, and workplace environment. As part of the process, members of the executive management team, including CEO Todd Meredith, conducted several small group conversations and distributed a series of surveys to meaningfully engage with employees, seeking their authentic input and feedback. This was a significant accomplishment for the company with over 300 employees operating across 24 states. As a result of these efforts, the organization implemented several new programs and initiatives, including:
- A new purpose, vision, and values statement based on the values that employees identified as most important. Camaraderie, respect, entrepreneurship, and excellence were selected as the company’s core values–and are used to define how its teams work, but also its aspirations to continually improve performance, and to recruit new employees who exemplify those attributes, too.
- Forming a wellness committee that developed the Healthcare Realty CARES Wellness program. A volunteer group of employees is committed to providing health and wellness opportunities for every employee. The group hosted monthly wellness challenges ranging from increasing steps to establishing a book club, helping with mindfulness and meditation practices and financial fitness. Participating employees track their progress with the MoveSpring app, which increases communication and camaraderie. As part of the wellness initiatives, Healthcare Realty donated over $10,000 to charities aligned with some of the challenges including Girls on the Run and Special Olympics. Healthcare Realty has received enormous employee support and appreciation for the new program, noting a greater motivation to focus on and improve their health.
- Completing major renovations at the company’s corporate headquarters in Nashville created a healthier, aesthetically pleasing workplace. Amenities include increased natural light, a new fitness room, showers and changing rooms, water bottle filling stations, standing desks, stairwell enhancements to encourage use, a new kitchen, and outdoor dining space.
Healthcare Realty plans to expand its initiatives in 2022, recognizing that supporting wellness initiatives and emphasizing personal health is important for attracting and retaining new and existing employees.
Healthcare Realty is a REIT that integrates owning, managing, financing, and developing income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient health care services throughout the U.S.