Every Drop Counts – Earth Day 2023

This Earth Day, DOC focused on water conservation education through our Every Drop Counts event. The month-long effort helped further DOC’s annual sustainability goals by tasking property management teams to engage our health care partners in water conservation educational activities and initiatives. Reducing water usage at the property level positively impacts DOC and our health care partners, and even small changes can often yield significant results. Across the DOC  portfolio, more than 100 properties held events, shared information, and engaged our health care partners by highlighting the importance of water conservation.

Here is just a small sampling of what we collectively achieved this Earth Day:

• Our Phoenix, AZ, property management team of Mercedes Marquez and Sandy Manos offered a trivia game with questions related to water conservation. Each participant was entered into a drawing for larger prizes, and all participants were invited to select from a variety of giveaways, including toilet leak detection tablets, eco-friendly reusable bags, and small succulent plants.
• Jen Scott, DOC’s Hartford, CT property manager, sent broadcast messages to her tenants via Building Engines with water-saving tips. She also worked with her management team to optimize property irrigation systems.
• In Dover, DE, Trish Johnson, CSA manager at Eden Hill Medical Center, held a water conservation trivia contest with all participants receiving a small succulent plant. In addition, to remind tenants to conserve water, she provided each suite with Every Drop Counts removable stickers to affix to their in-suite bathroom mirrors.
• Brian Morath, with RAP Management in Rochester, NY, challenged his tenants to reduce water consumption through simple, achievable actions such as asking them to report leaks, inspect janitorial closets, staff restrooms and breakrooms, and remind co-workers, via laminated signs placed by in-suite sinks, to turn off the water when washing hands. Tenants then documented their actions via photos culminating in a prize drawing.
• Our Atlanta, GA-based Realty Trust Group team, comprised of Von Terry, Alishia Martin, Christen Crossett, Angie Holton, Robin Costello, and Marissa Anguiano, hosted an Earth Day succulent grab-and-go event, where they shared the importance of conserving water, not only when caring for succulents, but in everyday life. The team also worked with eWaste ePlanet to offer electronics recycling to their tenants.
• In Omaha, NE, the DOC management team of Ben Chrystak and Daneen Galvez held their Annual Manager Meetings to coincide with Earth Day, bringing practice managers together within each building to discuss past and future projects, Kingsley survey areas for improvement, DOC’s ESG goals, including this year’s Earth Day focus, and other building care issues. In addition, each participant received a reusable water bottle with the Every Drop Counts logo.
• Cornerstone’s Indianapolis, IN, and Grand Blanc, MI management teams, which include Megan Drummond, Chanelle Mitchell, and Stephanie Decker, sent weekly emails to their buildings with fun facts about water conservation, promoted an Earth Day raffle, and encouraged recycling plastic bottles by trading them in for reusable bottles or succulents.
• Patricia Ball, our Lincoln Harris manager in El Paso, TX, gifted tenants DIY terrarium jars and plants.
• The Cambridge Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, management team of Wendy Martin and Jolene Wilson made plantable flower seed bombs from old company letterhead and flower seeds donated by their landscape vendors, which were then handed out to building tenants. Waste Management and janitorial service providers assisted by donating to the event. The team shared informational pamphlets about Earth Day and ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• The Houston-area & Austin, TX, team of Autumn Bay, Angie Gabriel, and Isabela Rivademar, set up a selfie booth outfitted with an Earth Day backdrop to help share DOC’s water conservation message. In addition to photos, the team passed out seed packets, flyers with water-saving tips, earth stress balls, and succulent plants.

Thank you to our property managers and health care partners who participated in DOC’s 2023 Earth Day celebration. Together, we all helped reinforce the message that Every Drop Counts!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is recognizing commercial real estate companies pursuing ENERGY STAR certifications for their properties through their “Certification Nation 2022” platform. DOC is proud to have earned “Premier Member” status by receiving 26 new certifications in 2022 (along with 10 retroactive certifications for properties previously ineligible before the U.S. Department of Energy restarted the program for medical real estate). An ENERGY STAR Certification is a trusted environmental label in the U.S., and as a long-term partner of the program, DOC continually incorporates better environmental impact principles into our business thoughtfully and responsibly. Congratulations to our entire DOC team on this outstanding achievement, and a special thanks to Libby Langenderfer for all of her help!

Newly certified ENERGY STAR properties include:

• Avondale MOB | Avondale, AZ
• Palm Valley MOB | Goodyear, AZ
• Abrazo Scottsdale MOB | Phoenix, AZ
• North Mountain MOB | Phoenix, AZ
• Fountain Hills Medical Campus | Fountain Hills, AZ
• Westgate MOB | Glendale, AZ
• Medical Arts Center at Hartford | Plainville, CT
• Peachtree Dunwoody Medical Center | Atlanta, GA
• Northside Center Pointe | Atlanta, GA
• Carmel Medical Pavilion | Carmel, IN
• Indiana American 2 | Greenwood, IN
• UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth MOB II | Louisville, KY
• Doctors Community Hospital POB | Lanham, MD
• Southdale Place | Edina, MN
• Dell MOB | Chanhassen, MN
• Vadnais Heights MOB | Vadnais Heights, MN
• MHealth Clinic & Specialty Center | Maplewood, MN
• St Alexius – Medical Arts Pavilion | Bismarck, ND
• Midlands One Professional Center | Papillion, NE
• Missionary Ridge MOB | Chattanooga, TN
• 3100 Lee Trevino Drive | El Paso, TX
• Carrollton MOB | Carrollton, TX
• Strictly Pediatrics Specialty Center | Austin, TX
• Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center | Dallas, TX
• Bridgeport Medical Center | Lakewood, WA
• Renaissance Office Building | Milwaukee, WI

Learn more about ENERGY STAR’s “Certification Nation” here.

As part of our Earth Day celebration last month, DOC challenged its property management team to “Step Up to the Plate and Swing for Savings” – a month-long effort to help meet DOC’s annual sustainability goals by reducing energy usage and increasing energy efficiency throughout our portfolio. Our property managers and health care partners implemented no- and low-cost energy savings projects as part of our Energy Savings Home Run Derby, and we were blown away by the results. By month’s end, 103 properties participated, collectively implementing nearly 800 no- or low-cost energy savings measures!

Here’s just a sampling of what we achieved together this Earth Day:

• In Bismarck, ND, Julie Helten, Davis senior property manager who oversees DOC’s 8-property portfolio, challenged her tenants with weekly projects ranging from activating sleep settings on electronics to replacing desk light bulbs with more efficient LED lighting.
• Dana Klein and Eileen Baisley of Landmark Healthcare Facilities, who manage DOC’s four-property NY/NJ portfolio, created an energy scorecard for their tenants. Ideas included turning off lights when not in use, using the sleep mode on computer monitors, and adjusting blinds to optimize natural light.
• The team managing DOC’s six-building Atlanta portfolio–Lauren Alexander, Von Terry, Kendall Snyder, JoLyn Adams, and Latoya Holden of Realty Trust Group–partnered with their service providers to offer educational events at multiple properties. In addition, they shared ideas on how to reduce our carbon footprint at work, at home, and on the go.
• In Katy, TX, Paul Stamatis, who leads the team managing our two-building portfolio, planned a gathering for Earth Day to inspire his tenants to save energy at work and home while also engaging the group in planting new trees on the property.
• Elease Benson of Lincoln Harris CSG – Healthcare Group created a “Price is Right”-style game for her tenants to raise awareness about energy waste and positive energy savings activities.
• Stephanie Decker, Cornerstone Companies property manager for DOC’s Grand Blanc, MI property, sent weekly emails to tenants, including an energy knowledge quiz and the property’s energy savings report.
• Angela Zarate, Amie Washburn, and Annette Daniel, DOC’s team managing the Columbus, OH portfolio, partnered with their janitorial service provider to hold events at two properties. The group donned baseball caps and t-shirts and shared a variety of healthy snacks, fun facts, and other energy savings information, including pollinator wildflower seed packets, stress balls, Earth Day-themed cookie pops, and a grab-and-go lunch.
• In Nebraska, Ben Chrystak, who manages a 13-property portfolio, centered his initiative around educating tenants on how easy-to-make small adjustments can make a significant impact.
• Susan Leinweaver, DOC senior property manager overseeing our Dallas, TX portfolio, held an Earth Day with a musical and artistic element. The day featured speakers, a piano player, an art show, and sustainably decorated display tables decked out with energy savings information and helpful tips.

We want to thank our management partners and our fantastic DOC team of property managers. We appreciate the many creative ways you stepped up to the plate and challenged our tenants to swing for savings!

DOC is thrilled to join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and thousands of other organizations across the country in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the EPA’s first voluntary climate initiative, Green Lights. In the 30 years of the EPA’s commitment to fostering climate change partnerships, we’ve collectively made some tremendous strides. Through EPA partnership programs such as ENERGY STAR, GreenChill, SmartWay, and others, American families and businesses have saved $500 billion over the past 30 years while leading the way towards a more sustainable future for our planet and for each other.

For our part, we are proud to be an ENERGY STAR climate partner since 2014, and we were honored to be recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2021. Through our ongoing commitment to sustainability – detailed in our annual ESG report at staging.docreit19.flywheelsites.com/esg – we are committed to tackling the climate crisis and leading the way to a clean energy economy. The work that we do in partnership with the EPA results in smart solutions that not only strengthen our business but improve the lives of our health care partners and their patients as well as the health of our planet. Learn more at www.epa.gov/30climate.

Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center has a striking façade. Rising ten stories above the medical campus below, the 460,000 square foot facility with its distinctive curved glass curtain wall stands as a fitting testament to the innovative medical research and care provided inside. The building’s construction and daily operations also represent groundbreaking advancements in sustainability and environmental awareness.

It’s a facility that has garnered numerous environmental awards and accolades, including a prestigious LEED Gold certification. With an ENERGY STAR certification and designation as an IREM Certified Sustainable Property (CSP), the building sets a new standard for sustainability for a facility of its size and function.

Over 650 people, from world-renowned medical specialists to nurses and medical assistants to administrative and facility management staff, report to Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center for work each day, and they all share one common goal: to create an environment centered on wellness, support, and education for patients with cancer, family members, and visitors. While that means, first and foremost, providing excellent health care, it also means cultivating the types of physical spaces, programming, and support services necessary to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges of battling cancer.

Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center makes use of its stunning 10^th-floor conference center to host over 50 events per week, ranging from patient and family support groups, to financial and social work resources, to healthy cooking classes, exercise and meditation programs, and music and art therapy sessions. The main lobby and second-floor common areas are also routinely used—without charge—for community and patient events.

Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center also collects yarn—lots of it—as part of an innovative service project to bring warmth and comfort to the facility’s patients. Each winter, on behalf of the property’s owners, Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE: DOC), the property management team collaborates with Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center staff and the nonprofit organization Passing Hats to collect yarn. Medical providers, patients, visitors, and vendors from throughout the facility collect yarn donations within their respective areas, and volunteers utilize the contributions to knit hats for patients battling cancer. The “hat tree” displaying these cheerful creations—free of charge—has become a permanent fixture in the building’s lobby, with additional hat baskets in many of the building’s offices and public spaces. Over 3,200 patients to date have been able to enjoy a free handmade hat courtesy of this collaborative yarn project.

“Collecting yarn from our health care workers, patients, and even some of the suppliers that provide services to the building has been a colorful way to support our patients during the holidays,” Susan Leinweaver, DOC Senior Property Manager, said. “Often the yarn is delivered with a story, like a visitor bringing yarn in memory of their mom who enjoyed knitting. Or it’s a contribution from a health care worker who knows first-hand how helpful it is for a warm hat to be available for their patients undergoing cancer treatment. We even had a patient bring in a bag so full of yarn that we had to drag it to the collection point together. Seeing our community rally around such a meaningful cause has been especially rewarding.”

The annual yarn collection, while a mainstay of Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center’s programming and a visible reminder of the facility’s genuine commitment to health and wellness, is just one thread in the larger tapestry of ongoing programming. The close relationship between DOC staff and the onsite property management team has led to many other innovative programming ideas and events to serve Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center’s patient base and broader Dallas community, including:

• Through a collaboration with BOMA Greater Dallas, a toiletry and school supply drive to benefit numerous Dallas-area nonprofit organizations
• A “Coffee with a Cop” event to strengthen the relationships between building staff, visitors, and local security personnel, creating a safer and healthier environment for all who utilize the facility
• A GivingTuesday clothing drive to benefit a local women’s shelter
• Annual therapeutic goat yoga sessions for Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center’s health care tenants
• Lunch & Learns on a variety of health and wellness topics, including fire safety
• A breast cancer awareness “Pink-Out” month celebration

“Across our portfolio, we strive to embody our ‘Invest in Better’ mission by prioritizing the health and wellness of all who come through the doors at our properties,” Mark Dukes, DOC Vice President of Asset Management, said. “We’re so proud of the innovative programming we’ve been able to create together at Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center alongside our health care providers. We look forward to continuing this rich partnership in the months and years to come on behalf of Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center’s staff, patients, and visitors.”

In November 2019, DOC was a proud sponsor of CHI Saint Joseph Hospital’s 31st Annual Evening with the Stars in Lexington, Kentucky. Health care professionals received awards for excellence in leadership, innovation, and service. Over $136,000 was raised for the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation’s emergency department renovation project. We are honored to support our health care partners’ efforts in this market as they invest in outstanding patient care facilities and services, the education of health caregivers, advanced clinical research, and improved access to quality medical care.

To learn more, click here.

Physicians Realty Trust and the tenants at The Renaissance, our corporate headquarters located in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, sponsored a blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross. Together, 28 donors helped save up to 84 lives! By ensuring that adequate blood supply is available for all, we can make a meaningful difference in our local community.

Many thanks to Vanessa Petura, Jody Solano, and Heidi Vaitkus for organizing our first-ever blood drive event.

At our 4th Annual Management Summit, a number of our hospital partners joined us for a panel discussion on Leading Your Team through Mergers & Acquisitions Transformation. During this session, prominent health system leaders shared their perspectives on hospital strategy for delivery and value-based care in an environment of mergers and acquisitions. DOC’s VP of Leasing, Amy Hall, led the discussion on how innovation plays a critical role in a merger or acquisition to promote and improve a health system’s ability to serve its patient population. On behalf of the DOC Team and our attendees, thank you Kim Davis (Catholic Health Initiatives/CommonSpirit), Mike Lappin (Aurora Health Care), Deann Manchester (USPI), and Jenni Witters (UPMC Pinnacle) for sharing your expertise.