Staffing shortages were a problem for skilled nursing facilities well before the current national emergency, but COVID-19’s behavior has exacerbated the challenges. Asymptomatic workers who moved from facility to facility — and who, by nature of their work, from patient to patient — were a major part of the reason the Life Care Center of […]
Harborview Capital Partners arranged a $32.4 million Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 232/223(f) loan for the refinancing of a 210-bed skilled nursing facility for the Chicago-based operator Legacy Healthcare. The loan features a 35-year term and “amortization at an extremely aggressive rate,” according to a statement announcing the deal. Ephraim Kutner, Jonathan […]
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday revised its rating outlook for Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) to “Negative,” down from “Stable,” while affirming the rating at “BBB+.” The Toledo, Ohio-based Welltower has a portfolio in which senior housing facilities accounted for 62% of net operating income as of March 31, while skilled nursing facilities account for about 15% […]
House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a major aid package with a provision that would indefinitely delay the implementation of a controversial rule that imperiled billions in Medicaid funding for skilled nursing facilities. The bill also would boost the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or Washington’s share of state Medicaid rates, by 14% — up from […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the skilled nursing field particularly hard, given the frailty of the residents and the challenges in securing testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) for both them and staff. But one major health care real estate investment trust (REIT) is optimistic on the possibilities of skilled nursing in the long term. […]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the leader of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish flexibilities for caring for long-term care residents with COVID-19 — by letting skilled nursing facilities send them to the hospital. While acknowledging that such individuals might not meet normal hospital admission criteria, DeSantis argued in a […]
As the U.S. fights to get the COVID-19 virus under control, nursing homes have emerged as a key front lines in the battle. But one of the largest skilled nursing and senior care operators in the country still struggles to secure sufficient testing. Skilled Nursing News caught up with George Hager, CEO of the Kennett […]
Several of the major health care real estate investment trusts (REITs) have responded to the challenges and upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic by withdrawing their earnings guidance for the year — a move that’s entirely understandable given the number of unknowns about the impact of the resulting emergency on tenants. But the San Clemente, Calif.-based […]
The enormous financial and clinical fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the skilled nursing world with particular force, but one major senior housing and care real estate investment trust (REIT) CEO believes that the situation could have been worse. In fact, it’s a credit to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), which took effect last […]
The federal government took several steps to cut red tape in the health care system to help providers across the continuum battle the COVID-19 pandemic. But while those changes included alterations to reporting requirements for skilled nursing facilities, providers won’t be exempt from the consumer-facing rating system — and they need to be aware of […]
The nursing home chain HCR ManorCare has — like many other skilled nursing operators — been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic still moving through the U.S. And like many other operators, it’s struggling to find the needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits, despite mandates from multiple states requiring testing and full stockpiles […]
LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC), the first major senior care real estate investment trust (REIT) to report its first-quarter earnings, had to cut rent for its tenants by 7% amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic — and in the meantime filed a lawsuit against a troubled tenant over ownership changes. LTC collected the majority of […]
As skilled nursing facilities across the country locked down to try to curb the spread of COVID-19, try to stay on top of constantly changing guidance from both the state and federal level, and navigate new mandates to report COVID-19 cases, it might be easy for them to overlook reaching out to insurers working as […]
Major skilled nursing operator PruittHealth last week announced that it was entering a partnership with a coalition of providers to expand COVID-19 testing at its facilities across Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. The partnership was about a month in the making — and it highlights the difficult timeline SNF operators have faced as […]
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) with a focus on health care are facing risks on all fronts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but those with investments in senior housing could see the most significant challenges — and their skilled nursing tenants might actually be better poised to come back from the brink, according to an […]
With personal protective equipment (PPE) in short supply across the country, skilled nursing facilities have felt left out in efforts to bolster health care capacity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic — even though by most measures, they are arguably on the front lines of the battle to contain the illness caused by the […]
To combat and contain the COVID-19 pandemic, testing has emerged as the both a lynchpin and one of the most of the significant pain points. This is true for all parts of the health care continuum in the U.S., but for skilled nursing facilities, the need for widespread testing is acute, given how swiftly the […]
Almost two months after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in a nursing home, a new study confirms what several others have indicated: People infected with COVID-19 can contribute to transmission of the illness without showing any symptoms. The most recent findings on the asymptomatic spread of the virus in nursing homes, published online […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed hospital system capacity to the breaking point in some parts of the U.S., and wrought particular havoc in the skilled nursing setting. All eyes have been on the health care system, with a particular focus on ensuring hospital capacity: Calls to stay home and “flatten the curve” often come with […]
The federal government has waived multiple regulations around telehealth with an eye toward making it as easy as possible to stay home and receive medical care. It’s a move that seems well-suited to benefit the Medicare beneficiaries living in skilled nursing facilities across the U.S., who need care while minimizing contact with visitors during the […]