Skilled Nursing Transactions: Strawberry Fields Picks Up Louisville SNF

Ohio Skilled Nursing Facility Sold for $7.5M An Ohio skilled nursing facility (SNF) is under new management after being sold for $7.5 million by Kettering Health Network, a hospital system based in Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reported. The former Greene Oaks Retirement Center, now called Harmony Center for Rehabilitation & Healing, was purchased by […]

Employees at Small SNFs Take Away More from Training

Despite often having fewer resources, smaller skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) know how to help their staff make the most of the training they receive—more so than their larger SNF counterparts. Though larger facilities tend to have more sophisticated training technology, small facilities have strong methods for evaluating whether skills taught during training are being applied […]

The Five Traits of a Successful SNF Administrator — And How To Recruit One

Staffing challenges continue to torment skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and not just at the caregiving level. Often, broader issues within a SNF are traced back to high turnover at the administrative level. As a result, SNF hiring managers should be thinking more critically about attracting the right candidates who will positively impact the facility. “It’s […]

Skilled Nursing Transactions: CareTrust REIT Expands in Four States

Capital One Provides $16.3 Million Loan to Refinance PruittHealth SNF Portfolio  Capital One announced that it provided a $16.3 million loan to PruittHealth to refinance a portfolio of three skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and an intermediate care facility for individuals with developmental disabilities (ICF-MR) in Georgia, as well as a SNF in North Carolina. Four […]

Preferred SNF Networks Reduce Readmissions, But Do They Prevent Choice?

Hospitals that develop preferred provider networks of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are seeing lower readmission rates over time than those that don’t. However, establishing these networks does not come without roadblocks. In a recent study published by Health Affairs, a peer-reviewed health care journal, four hospitals with preferred SNF networks were monitored from 2009 to […]

OIG Audit Reveals Inadequate Abuse Protections for Skilled Nursing Residents

Abuses at skilled nursing facilities frequently go unreported, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determined in a new report that also accused the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of not doing enough to protect residents. HHS’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the emergency room records for 134 Medicare beneficiaries with any […]

Skilled Nursing Transactions: $41.1 Million Mortgage for Northwest Provider

Capital One Closes $41.1 Million Mortgage for Pacific Northwest SNF Provider Capital One provided a $41.1 million first mortgage and a $5 million senior credit facility for Prestige Care, a Vancouver, Wash.-based provider of skilled nursing, memory care, assisted living, and independent living communities, the lender announced. Prestige Care will use the loan to purchase […]

Amid Turmoil, Does Skilled Nursing Have a Future in REITs?

Conflicts between major real estate investment trusts (REITs) and their skilled nursing tenants have dominated industry headlines in recent weeks. Quality Care Properties (NYSE: QCP) continues to seek relief amid its primary tenant HCR ManorCare’s failure to pay rent, while shareholders of Sabra Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBRA) attempted to derail its acquisition of the SNF-heavy […]

[UPDATED] As Receivership Looms, ManorCare DOJ Case Moves Forward

As Quality Care Properties (NYSE: QCP) seeks receivership for HCR ManorCare properties, a date has been set for the False Claims Act case against ManorCare for allegedly providing unnecessary therapy services to residents and billing to Medicare. The trial date has been set for January 22, 2018 and is likely to result in a settlement, […]

Transactions: Summit Snags Nine SNFs in Northeast

Summit Healthcare REIT Acquires Interest in 9 Northeast SNFs Summit Healthcare REIT, Inc. acquired an interest in nine Northeast skilled nursing facilities for $60 million, the Lake Forest, Calif.-based Summit announced in a press release. The facilities, with a total of 1,285 beds, will be leased back to the existing operator. The purchase was made through […]

Telemedicine Could Hold Answer to Lower Hospital Readmission Rates for SNFs

As skilled nursing facilities feel the pressure to reduce readmission rates and manage costs, recent studies point to a technology that SNFs can outsource to achieve both. Telemedicine, which connects specialized doctors with skilled nursing residents through video conferencing, prevents unnecessary transfers from SNFs to hospitals, according to a recent study by the TRECS Institute […]

SNFs Must Find Their Place in New Payment Models to Last

It’s no secret that the skilled nursing industry has been on the rocks in recent years. Large operators have sold off their SNF offerings, while mom-and-pop facilities struggle to stay afloat. Still, SNFs offer a vital service that is not largely found elsewhere — long-term and post-acute care, particularly for those that rely on Medicaid […]

Skilled Nursing Arbitration Agreements Likely to Be Reinstated

Politicians, district attorneys and even celebrities are up in arms over the Trump administration’s plan to reinstate skilled nursing arbitration agreements, which critics say unfairly limit patients’ rights. However, an arbitration ban stands in direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling and is unlikely to stand, according to an attorney specializing in health law. When […]

Critics of Plan to Reinstate SNF Arbitration Agreements Attack Trump, CMS

As the deadline for public comment approached, politicians and advocacy groups lodged strong objections to the Trump administration’s proposal to overturn Obama-era regulations that protect residents’ ability to sue skilled nursing facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule in 2016 that prevents SNFs that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds from including “no sue” clauses in […]

Independent Proxy Firm Calls for Sabra-CCP Merger Veto

Another player has spoken out against the proposed $7.4 billion merger of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBRA) and Care Capital Properties (NYSE: CCP) — and this time, it’s an independent third party. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an independent proxy advisory firm, added its voice to the chorus rejecting the merger, including shareholders Hudson Bay […]

CMS Projects $370 Million Increase in SNF Payments in 2018

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its fiscal year 2018 payment and policy changes for skilled nursing facilities on Monday, including pay increases for the coming year. Payments to SNFs will increase in 2018 by $370 million, or 1%, compared to 2017, CMS projects. This falls short of last year’s prediction of […]

Omega Misses Rental Income Projections Due to Delinquent Tenants

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE: OHI) missed its estimated quarterly rental income, with top executives from the real estate investment trust (REIT) blaming two delinquent operators on its second-quarter earnings call Thursday morning. Omega reported rental income of $194 million for the second quarter of 2017, a figure that — while 4% higher than it recorded in the […]