As currently constructed, bed counts form the bedrock of nursing home finances. More beds mean more chances for reimbursement, more ways to fill a need for a hospital partner, more opportunities to offset fixed expenses. But more beds also mean a greater risk for COVID-19 infection, more logistical challenges for cohorting and staff separation, and […]
Two investment firms provided opposite takes on the stocks of publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) with skilled nursing portfolios, with Mizuho Securities USA downgrading two of the REITs and Jefferies upgrading the same two firms. The two REITs involved were Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) and Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA). “We […]
When the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in skilled nursing facilities became apparent after the first major outbreak in the state Washington, dire predictions for the sector were immediate. Most of those fears, clinically speaking, were borne out horrifically over the course of 2020. But while surveys have found plummeting occupancy and significant numbers of […]
The Chicago-based Cambridge Realty Capital announced a host of skilled nursing deal closings completed during the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the lender’s total to $415 million for the year. The largest of those transactions involved $16.9 million for Manor Court* of Peru, Ill., a campus with 94 skilled beds, 68 assisted living units, and […]
BMO Capital Markets this week downgraded its outlook for several publicly traded landlords of senior housing and skilled nursing facilities, but post-acute care emerged as a rare bright spot in the analysis — with the prediction that the sector will recover faster than its senior living counterparts. The financial services provider issued downgrades to Welltower […]
Early in December, Concerto Renal Services announced that it was expanding its partnership with the skilled nursing provider SavaSeniorCare, with the addition of on-site dialysis treatments to a facility in Georgia. For Concerto, the partnership with Sava at the Dunwoody Health and Rehabilitation Center is the fourth such agreement between the two companies and marks […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) kicked off 2021 by acquiring the operations of three skilled nursing facilities in Southern California with 99 beds apiece: Golden Hill Post Acute in San Diego, St. Catherine Healthcare in Fullerton, and Camino Healthcare in Hawthorne. The transaction closed on New Year’s Day, and the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based Ensign […]
George Hager has retired as the CEO of Genesis HealthCare (NYSE: GEN), the nursing home chain announced Tuesday morning. Robert Fish, chairman of the board, will succeed Hager effective immediately. Hager will continue as a senior advisor to the board; Fish will remain as board chairman. “We are fortunate to have Bob step in as […]
As the calendar turned to 2021, the skilled nursing mergers-and-acquisitions market showed signs of heating up with multiple big-dollar portfolio deals announced. First up, MONTICELLOAM on Monday trumpeted its involvement in a $507 million skilled nursing portfolio transaction in the Southeast. The New York City-based health care lender and asset manager originated $368 million in […]
Skilled nursing and senior living landlord LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) will reduce rent escalators for its tenants by 50% in 2021, the real estate investment trust (REIT) announced Thursday. The move will bring a $560,000 revenue hit to the Westlake Village, Calif.-based LTC for the first quarter of the new year, along with a $1.4 […]
A December survey of more than 900 nursing home providers —conducted by one of the largest trade groups in the sector — found that 65% of providers are operating at a loss or negative margin, while just 34% believe they can sustain operations for more than a year. The December survey was conducted by the […]
The federal government on Wednesday announced an expansion of the third phase of COVID-19 relief for health care providers, specifically releasing an extra $1.1 billion to nursing homes. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided to boost its Phase 3 funding total from $20 billion to $24 billion after determining that the initial […]
Of all the systemic flaws that led to the still-unfolding disaster in American nursing homes, the design of the buildings themselves stands among the most plainly visible. Shared rooms where residents live up to four abreast, with double occupancy still the norm in most facilities. Communal bathrooms where, in addition to suffering the indignity of […]
Despite grim numbers around COVID-19 rates and cratering occupancy in skilled nursing facilities, a variety of factors conspired to improve top operators’ lease coverage in the third quarter of 2020 — with a tentatively brighter outlook for the start of next year. An increase in skilled mix, normalization of pandemic-related costs, and the return of […]
White Oak Healthcare Finance provided funding for a $110 million senior credit facility secured by nine skilled nursing facilities in Virginia, with a total of more than 1,000 beds. White Oak acted as administrative agent and sole lender on the funding, which was done on behalf of the client, “a well-respected real estate investor,” according […]
When Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) and health system ProMedica teamed up to take over nursing home giant HCR ManorCare in 2018, the players positioned the move as a way to vertically integrate a continuum that could follow a patient from the hospital, to a skilled nursing facility, to home health. The real estate investment trust […]
A giant in the post-acute software and tech world is about to get much larger, driven by a push to break down the barriers between various settings in post-acute care. PointClickCare Technologies on Tuesday announced its pending acquisition of care coordination software firm Collective Medical, cementing a relationship between the two companies that began in […]
A smaller group of nursing facilities will split a larger pot of cash in the second round of the federal government’s four-part value-based competition for COVID-19 relief dollars. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday announced the pending distribution of $523 million in performance-based stimulus payments to about 9,200 nursing homes that […]
A member of a federal advisory board on Medicare policy last week recommended against a payment boost for nursing homes, concluding that despite the negative effects of COVID-19, operators have maintained steady access to capital — and generally make too high of a margin on Medicare-covered residents. “Even with increased costs, Medicare payments are more […]
Skilled nursing heavyweight The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) last week took over operations of the Hays Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a 116-bed property in San Marcos, Texas. The deal expands the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based Ensign’s total portfolio to 228 properties across 13 states. “We are excited to strengthen our presence in the state of […]