Ziegler’s CFO Hotline report released May 24 indicated that approximately half of skilled nursing operators in the country plan to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory moving ahead.
The Chicago-based specialty investment bank surveyed more than 220 SNF organizations for the report. Currently, only 10% of operators have mandated the shot either for all staff or for new hires, the report said.
About one-third of those looking to mandate in future are “highly likely” to do so.
“We have had zero resident cases in the past few months, a testament to the success of the vaccine,” one operator said; business leaders participating in the survey were allowed to leave anonymous open-ended comments. “We are having difficulty with staff members contracting COVID (who refused vaccination).”
Ziegler has seen an overall increase in vaccine acceptance on resident and staff sides — 90-plus percent and 67%, respectively; staff vaccine rates have increased a modest 5% since March.
The report touched on marketing and sales momentum too. About 90% of operators participating in the report said they’re seeing “positive momentum” in May.
“We have noticed a significant uptick in admissions mainly due to families pleased with our communities’ number of vaccinated staff,” another participating operator said.
CFOs have seen insurance renewal rates increase year-over-year, according to Ziegler’s May report, with an average increase of 22% for liability insurance compared to last year’s policy renewals.
“I fully expect insurance costs to come down in the near future,” one operator said. “The significant rise in premiums were a knee jerk reaction by the insurance companies to the unknown impact of potential future claims associated with COVID-19.”
“Insurance increases noted are based on what we are hearing from our broker and could be significantly higher. We are waiting for final numbers as our current coverage period ends at the end of May,” another said.
Companies featured in this article:
