RealFoundations Drives Successful Merger and IT Integration for Healthcare Realty Trust

 

Largest Medical Office Building REIT Streamlines Operations with Seamless Technology Consolidation

Project Overview

In July 2022, Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE: HR), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses, successfully completed its merger with Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. (NYSE: HTA), a publicly registered REIT. The unified entity, operating under the Healthcare Realty Trust name and continuing to trade under the ticker symbol HR, emerged as the country’s largest pure-play medical office building (MOB) REIT. Post-merger, Healthcare Realty owns and operates over 700 multi-tenant properties in 35 states, exceeding 44 million square feet, located mostly on or adjacent to hospital campuses.

Both legacy organizations used MRI Software’s core property management and accounting solutions, but the systems were configured and leveraged in different ways. Working together with RealFoundations and the MRI team, Healthcare Realty successfully deployed a consolidated instance of its MRI solutions to the cloud, streamlining operations and delivering increased value across the combined organization.

RealFoundations’ Management Consulting team served as a strategic partner to manage and expedite the essential data migration, integration, and technology consolidation. The successful merger and transition to a unified platform now provides leasing and property management services for more than 30 million square feet nationwide with a market capitalization of $6.5 billion and total enterprise value of $12 billion as of September 2024.

 

“RealFoundations played an instrumental role in the seamless integration of our technology systems during our merger with Healthcare Trust of America. We needed a strategic partner who could manage the entire project and provide expert guidance and RealFoundations delivered. Their expertise in data consolidation, process alignment and security model redesign ensured a smooth transition. Thanks to their meticulous planning and execution, we were able to streamline our operations, enhance efficiency and improve user satisfaction across the board.”

— Andy Baxter, Chief Technology Officer, Healthcare Realty Trust

 

Challenges

This integration and consolidation project featured the following challenges:

  • Integrating two distinct MRI databases – a SaaS solution and an on-premises Windows application – to create a single consolidated MRI Web SaaS environment.
  • Creating new business processes to align Healthcare Realty Trust and Healthcare Trust of America on the future state of responsibilities.
  • Driving process efficiencies by leveraging previously unused system functionality to automate prepaid application and CPI increases.
  • Navigating two highly customized legacy systems, including users accustomed to a specific system’s capabilities.
  • Redesigning the security model to accommodate users with multiple roles and overlapping security rights.
  • Merging two differently designed instances of Sage Fixed Assets into one instance of MRI Fixed Assets.

 

Value-Add Solutions

RealFoundations delivered a fully integrated and consolidated platform between Healthcare Realty Trust and Healthcare Trust of America that:

  • Combined highly customized data elements from the on-premises MRI Windows environment and MRI SaaS Windows into a single MRI SaaS Web environment.
  • Created and managed tasks and milestones to achieve consolidation of two legacy organizations within a condensed timeline.
  • Analyzed custom reports from both legacy organizations, reducing the number of custom reports by 42% in the new consolidated platform.
  • Standardized Healthcare Realty Trust’s processes within the MRI SaaS Web environment and removed over 300 MRI customizations.
  • Delivered consolidated process flows outlining future state of responsibilities and created 89 quick reference guides (QRGs), along with supplemental training materials, to ensure employee adoption.

 

Realized Benefits

RealFoundations helped Healthcare Realty Trust to successfully navigate the complex merger and full technology consolidation process. This project yielded substantial benefits from streamlined operations to enhanced security, efficiency, and overall user satisfaction.

Healthcare Realty Trust now benefits from:

  • A best-in-class operating model for the largest pure-play Medical Office Building (MOB) REIT in the market.
  • A fully integrated platform with advanced functionalities, improving data management and decision-making.
  • A redesigned security infrastructure that enhances protection while ensuring adherence to industry regulations.
  • An optimized operating model that enables scalability, operational efficiencies, and accounting rigor.

 

Connect with Us

To learn more about how RealFoundations can help you run real estate better, contact Enterprise Managing Consultant Brian Daugherty via email at Brian.Daugherty@realfoundations.net or use the Contact Us button in the top right corner of this page.

 

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty Trust’s portfolio includes over 700 properties totaling over 44 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.

 

About RealFoundations

RealFoundations (RF) is the world’s foremost professional services firm focused solely on the real estate industry. Through our delivery of Management Consulting and Managed Services, we help companies that develop, own, operate, service or invest in real estate make better, more profitable decisions. We are proud partners to over 500 real estate companies around the globe, providing accelerated solutions that solve some of real estate’s most complex challenges. We Make Real Estate Run Better.