Tell us about your responsibilities as Real Estate Manager.

I have a property manager that reports to me, and that person handles the day-to-day work with our tenants, things like visiting properties when needed, renewals, handling tenant calls, resolving issues, and completing paperwork. The property manager works with the facilities techs on our staff when it comes to repairs and maintenance. In my position I have responsibility for higher level strategic items such as the purchase or sale of a property and working with the strategy team to locate the best site for a facility. I take care of the big picture items, master planning and a lot of site location work. I’m aware of the day-to-day leases with our doctors and tenants but the property manager is there on the front lines managing that. My priorities change week to week depending on what projects our customer has us working on. Most of Medxcel healthcare customers own their own hospitals, but even within the hospital we may have third-party tenants we need to manage. For example here in Wichita we have a hospice group leasing space within our hospital, so we manage that. Many of our hospital campuses have medical office buildings and that’s where a lot of our work occurs. Those buildings are a combination of inter-company leases with health system medical groups, and third-party tenants such as pharmacies or hospice companies. We touch every one of those leases and manage those buildings. It’s our job to make sure those tenants are well taken care of and happy.
 

Describe the path you took to arrive in your current role.

Believe it or not I have a French degree and I intended to work in a translation job. I met a guy in college who wanted to be a pilot and Wichita is the mecca for aviation, so we moved here after college for him to pursue his career. I needed a job and I interviewed for a position answering the phone for a local real estate agent. When I finished the interview, they told me that I was too qualified for that job but said they needed a brokerage assistant and asked me if I’d be interested. Honestly, I needed a job, so I joined the commercial brokerage firm in that capacity and I absolutely loved it. In 2008 I got my real estate license and worked for several third-party brokerage firms and some private equity groups for a few years. I eventually ended up working for the owner of this health system and two years ago the position transitioned to Medxcel. I’ve been in real estate since 2008, all because I applied for a job answering phones. Today the organization I originally interviewed with is now my broker; they manage all of our sale and purchase transactions.
 

What kinds of training and development opportunities have you taken advantage of through Medxcel?

Medxcel has a terrific tuition reimbursement program and I’ve taken full advantage of that. In January I completed my Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation which is very important in real estate. Medxcel helped me achieve that, paying for my classes and encouraging me to pursue higher level certifications related to my job. I would never have been able to pursue that designation on my own, financially. Right now I’m working to complete my Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation which is also a big deal in the real estate world. Medxcel encourages their associates to grow and to become better people. I really appreciate that.
 

What is the best part of your job?

I enjoy working with my team, but we are very dispersed. My boss is in Austin, TX and my counterparts are all across the country. In my market I really enjoy the relationship with my local healthcare customer and seeing their vision for the future, watching it take shape, and being a partner in the process. Our local healthcare system has a long history but as we work together to implement their strategic vision it’s like watching history unfold before my eyes, it’s exciting to see what the future holds for our healthcare partners and their patients. I feel like we’re all working together on an exciting future.
 

Which of Medxcel’s Core Values speaks most to you?

In real estate you must pride yourself on providing the right service to your tenant, otherwise they will go somewhere else. So Integrity is critical to what we do. At the end of the day I need to know that we are giving the best possible service to our tenants so that they are proud to lease from us. I need to know my property manager is doing his job, my facilities team is doing their job, and we’re all aligned on a positive outcome for the tenant. Our tenants who are mainly medical groups have more leasing options than ever before, they no longer have to be on our medical campus. It’s gratifying to know that they still want to be here with us on our campus, that’s really cool.
 

Have you learned anything you didn’t expect working in real estate?

Well I never expected to work in real estate! And when I started, I certainly didn’t expect to love it and make it my career! But, I learn something new every day which I really enjoy. I never thought that I would know or understand anything about healthcare, and honestly, I only know enough to be dangerous. It’s amazing the things you learn each day working with doctors and other medical professionals and specialties. It’s fascinating how each group has such different needs as a tenant. You might walk in to meet with an oncology group, and you think you know exactly what they’re looking for in terms of space, and you listen and learn their needs are completely different. Every group is a completely different kind of user. I have learned to go with the flow and listen more. I let the tenant tell me what they need. They are professionals, they know their job, and they know what their operations require. You can’t assume anything or go in trying to tell them what they need. The other thing I’ve learned working at Medxcel is that they really believe in helping others. I came from a career in the commercial real estate world that was very focused on commission checks and the bottom line. Of course, we care about financial responsibility here as well, but what you see here is everyone wanting to serve patients and that makes you feel so good at the end of the day; you know you’re doing something for a higher cause than just managing real estate or making money.
 

What would tell some if they asked you if they should consider working for Medxcel?

I would tell anyone who asks they should come work with us. The tuition reimbursement program is great and has allowed me to get several professional designations I wouldn’t have been able to achieve on my own. Medxcel encourages us to grow and learn. The other thing I’ve really learned is that Medxcel is a big company that treats you like you work at a small caring company. They are incredibly responsive, something that frankly I wasn’t used to with my previous employers. Everyone is accessible and responds promptly. There is always someone at the other end of the phone line or computer, ready to answer questions and help you out. You will never be put on hold at Medxcel when you’re looking for help. I know that I can reach out and get a response, no matter where that person is in the country, regional directors of landscaping or facilities, or someone at corporate. I’m a person to them, not just a number in the system and that makes me feel really engaged, connected, and appreciated here.
 

Have you been involved in any projects you’re particularly proud of? 

We worked really hard here on a local employee health clinic for Spirit AeroSystems which is one of the biggest employers in Wichita. There were a lot of partners and a lot of moving parts to get it off the ground. We worked a lot of late nights, and it was a huge team effort but it’s such a one-of-a-kind facility serving a specific population. I’m really proud of that project.