Fountain Valley City Center Bought by MemorialCare Health System

MemorialCare Health System announced earlier this month that it is completing escrow to purchase Fountain Valley City Center on Brookhurst and the 405 Freeway.

The Fountain Valley City Center is already home to MemorialCare Health System and its shared services, which fully occupy one of the three buildings on the property, and partially occupy a second building in a lease arrangement. The three buildings surround a spacious courtyard, offer convenient parking, and have the potential for further improvements to create the shared, healthy workplace MemorialCare envisions for its 1,500 employees at this site.

The 15-acre, 300,000 square-foot Fountain Valley property recently became available for sale. The property allows for future expansion of the fast-growing health system. MemorialCare is also acquiring an adjacent property for additional parking.

Earlier this year, MemorialCare announced that it purchased property in Costa Mesa, which had a smaller footprint and 115,000 less usable square feet than the Fountain Valley property. It is currently in escrow with an unrelated third-party to sell the facility at a significant gain.

"When we were seeking a new facility for the shared services we provide to our hospitals, physician groups and outpatient facilities, the Fountain Valley location where we are currently located was not on the market," says Barry Arbuckle, PhD, president and CEO of MemorialCare Health System. "When it became available, we changed course due to the many advantages it offered."

These include the three modular buildings that allow for future growth and the ability to take advantage of the improvements that MemorialCare already made on the leased property. It also allows for economies of scale by not having to move to a new facility, thus minimizing disruptions to system services. Additionally, there are lower costs per square foot, increased flexibility for growth and easy entrance and exit from the campus for MemorialCare staff members and visitors. Equally important is the ability to move more shared support services out of the health system's six hospitals, thus freeing up much needed space in MemorialCare medical centers for additional clinical services.

The campus and headquarters will accommodate the rapid growth of MemorialCare in Orange and Los Angeles counties and bring together teams from throughout the health system currently spread over several locations. This announcement coincides with MemorialCare's recent addition of physician groups, outpatient and ambulatory surgery and imaging facilities, retail health centers, an emerging health plan and other clinical and support services as MemorialCare continues to be regarded as one of the nation's most comprehensive integrated health care delivery systems.

The facility ensures better coordination and integration to accommodate rapid expansion of MemorialCare Health System, one of Orange County's fastest growing businesses. In addition to the corporate office and shared service teams, the campus will bring together teams from MemorialCare's physician support locations and medical groups, including MemorialCare Medical Group, Greater Newport Physicians and Nautilus Healthcare Management Group.

The Fountain Valley campus also allows for total immersion into workplace wellness, with food choices and designs and spaces promoting health and well-being. "Having 1,500 MemorialCare employees together on this campus provides several unique opportunities, including further enhancement of our Good Life wellness program and employee engagement initiatives," says Tammie Brailsford, RN, MemorialCare Health System COO. "By offering efficient work areas using the latest designs, including a gym, walking trails, health coaching, nutritious food choices, work-life balance programs and more for employees, we further our mission of broadening a culture of healthy, happy employees. We continue to share these successful population health management practices with businesses throughout the Southland aiming to improve employee health and contain health care costs."

"The communities we serve throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties are demanding care that is close to their homes and workplaces," adds Arbuckle. During recent months, MemorialCare has added a number of outpatient imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care facilities and physician office practices to ensure those who live and work in the Southland have easy, local access to the highest quality of care available. That has resulted in more than 200 care sites complementing MemorialCare's six hospitals in the two-county area.

MemorialCare is in discussions with other health care providers to expand further access to health care throughout the Southland in response to many external factors. These include anticipation of the state's health insurance exchange which should substantially increase the number of insured Californians as well as the need to ensure economies of scale, delivery cost savings and value to MemorialCare's expanding integrated delivery system and to focus on health and wellness initiatives in the workplace and throughout Southern California communities.