Birmingham-headquartered The Sanders Trust on Thursday announced that two of its longtime leaders have earned the Healthcare Real Estate Insights 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award.

According to a release, The Sanders Trust president and CEO Rance Sanders and the late Bart Starr were selected for their significant and unique contributions to the development of the health care real estate industry over time.

Starr’s honor was awarded posthumously. The Alabama native, who became a football legend playing quarterback at the University of Alabama and for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, passed away in 2019 at age 85.

“On behalf of myself and my late friend and mentor, I am sincerely humbled and grateful to be given this award and recognition,” Sanders said in a statement.

“To be named among such a prestigious group of industry leaders is such an honor, and I know Bart would feel the same,” he continued. “When Bart and I began this was a small, fragmented industry with an overlooked asset class. During our 30 plus years, the industry has become widely appreciated by large institutional investors for the exposure to low risk, recession-resistant properties.”

Healthcare Real Estate Insights selects the Lifetime Achievement Award based on leadership in the industry, excellence in strategy and innovation, professional awards and accreditations, and significant contributions to the sector.

Sanders and Starr were nominated for the highest honor in the industry by Ben Ochs and James Schmid, managing partners of Anchor Health Properties.

“Ben and I nominated Bart and Rance in recognition of all the contributions that they and The Sanders Trust platform have made and the quality and character of the organization they have built. Thanks to their leadership in the development of medical facilities, and particularly inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, the property type has become an institutionally recognized asset class, creating meaningful capital markets liquidity for the sector,” stated Schmid.

The Sanders Trust develops and acquires medical office buildings, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, specialty hospitals and other mission-critical health care facilities nationwide. Located in the Magic City, The Sanders Trust has been a recognized leader in the investment community for healthcare clients since its inception in 1989 and has developed or acquired medical properties in 29 states.

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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn