The Institute for Innovation Development recently talked with Zeke Turner, founder & CEO of Mainstreet Global—an innovative real estate development firm dedicated to fundamentally changing the way health care is delivered. Through purpose-built design and technology, they are pioneering new ideas that will improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of health care. They provide a great case study of how innovative thinking can reimagine, reconstruct and favorably impact all stakeholders involved in an industry—in this case not just acute care rehabilitation patients but also health systems, physician groups and payors.
Bill Hortz: How is Mainstreet Global different from other real estate development firms?
Zeke Turner: We are uniquely positioned to respond to the changing needs of patients, health systems and insurers, and we believe we can offer innovative solutions that solve challenges in the industry.
Hortz: What are the industry problems that you see that have to be addressed?
Turner: One of the primary problems we see is stagnation. Much of the post-acute health-care infrastructure is aging rapidly, and was designed long before modern technology was available. The buildings themselves don’t meet the needs of patients, their families or their providers, but the operating models are also often deficient. By designing facilities with these needs in mind, organizations like ours can fill this gap in the industry and bring consumers the care they want and deserve, rather than having them linger in the hospital, be sent home too soon or end up in a facility that’s not designed to meet their rehabilitation needs.
Hortz: What motivated you to launch your firm?
Turner: We saw a real gap in the real estate industry—that there was a real need for someone to come in and reinvent the actual physical environment in post-acute care, and that led to a need to reinvent the operating models as well. The vast majority of buildings in this industry are nearly 40 years old. While technology, patient needs and medical advances are changing at a remarkably fast pace, the post-acute care industry has lagged behind. We believe we can make a real difference to patients, operators and other segments of the industry with our new ideas.
Hortz: How are you uniquely answering industry problems and, as you say, transforming lives?
Turner: We are transforming lives by changing how health care is delivered. Through strategic design and technology, we are bridging a vital gap in traditional rehabilitation treatment that results in better outcomes for patients, hospitals and physicians. Aging health-care infrastructure and the need for purpose-built facilities that are able to deliver the most modern solutions to people’s needs have been a clarion call to us. This is an area where we can successfully offer tangible improvement in the industry.
Hortz: What were the biggest obstacles? How did you solve these problems where others haven’t?