Kathleen Moorman: Spearheads real estate for Baptist Health South Florida

Kathleen Moorman began her professional career in commercial real estate because she enjoyed that the business allowed her to learn about a wide range of areas.

In 2006, she entered the world of health care real estate at Baptist Health South Florida. The vice president of Baptist Health Enterprises Real Estate and Development, Ms. Moorman describes herself as the health care organization’s real estate agent. She said the division is a full-service real estate company with a transaction team, property managers, property accountants, engineers and security officers.

Like all real estate agents, Ms. Moorman said she and the other staff must find the right location for Baptist Health’s facilities. The difference, however, is their primary focus is health care. The facilities must be in areas with good lighting and parking and near other amenities, she said, so patients and others will have a positive experience.

Ms. Moorman said the real estate team looks at what the community needs, where there are areas of growth to bring health care. Baptist Health’s urgent care hubs are supported by its hospitals, she said, and with ERs so busy, the team tries to put in a primary care, an urgent care or an express care center close to a hospital’s neighborhood so patients who don’t have critical needs can go there. 

The work is extremely rewarding, Ms. Moorman said. It has its unique challenges, however. She said developers and landlords often have preconceived notions of what the health care organization’s services are, and the team has to explain that what’s coming in will be more like a physician office – professional and quiet.

Miami Today reporter Susan Danseyar interviewed Ms. Moorman at Baptist Health South Florida corporate headquarters in Coral Gables.

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