June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 18

FINANCE FOR THE FIELD
Partnering With Hospitals
By John L. Crompton, Ph.D.

primary reason parks were first embraced in the mid-1800s as a
standard feature of tax-supported urban infrastructure was their
perceived contribution to reducing the impact of disease and epidemics on city populations. They were considered to be oases
of clean air that offered protection against miasmas, or " bad air, " which were
believed by the medical profession at that time to be the source of all illnesses.
In contemporary times, positioning public parks and recreation as
vehicles for enhancing public health
remains an important justification
for the field's tax support. NRPA
recognizes this by designating health
as one of the Three Pillars that guide
the organization's mission.
The health positioning of the
park and recreation field aligns
with the changing mission of hospitals. In the past two decades,
their mission has expanded to
incorporate wellness and prevention, rather than being confined to
treating sickness and traumas. The
alignment has resulted in hospitals
contributing funds for capital improvements and/or annual operating costs for recreation centers.
Positioning
parks and
recreation as
vehicles for
enhancing
public health is
an important
justification for
tax support.

Parks & Recreation

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Glenview Park District and
Glenview Hospital
Typically, a department sends out a
Request for Interest (RFI) to all hospital providers in the area, followed
by a Request for Proposals (RFP)
that's sent to those who responded affirmatively. The partnership
between Glenview Park District,
Illinois, and Glenview Hospital operated by Evanston Northwestern
Healthcare Corporation (ENH) was
a pioneering venture and remains illustrative of how such partnerships
may be nurtured.
It was initiated when Glenview Park District built its
164,000-square-foot
recreation
center. ENH leased 10,088 square
feet for use as a health and wellness

center. The lease fee was $17,500 a
month to cover ENH's share of the
design and capital cost, and $3,700
a month to pay its proportionate
share of the costs of maintaining
and operating common spaces. The
initial agreement was for 10 years,
by which time the capital commitment would be fulfilled. ENH had
four five-year options to renew the
lease on specified terms.
The hospital provided assessments and rehabilitation treatments
for park district clientele. In return,
hospital patients gained priority
access to other parts of the facility,
such as the therapeutic and whirlpools, fitness equipment, swimming pool, running track and gymnasia. Thus, for example, ENH and
its patients had priority use of the
therapy pool from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. Their annual maintenance payments covered a proportionate share of the
Common Access Maintenance
(CAM) costs (restrooms, storage
areas, locker rooms, entrance and
exit lobbies, hallways, parking
spaces, and utilities for their space).
The benefits to the hospital were
the prominence and location of the
recreation site, access to a built-in
customer base, co-branding of the
center with the recreation agency,
and joint marketing. The joint marketing and branding required that
ENH be identified as the exclusive
health and wellness provider for
the Glenview Park District on all
signage, marketing and advertising
materials. It also included a commitment from the Park District to
include on the applications for rec-

June 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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