Two months of stories about COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes have taken a toll on the public’s opinion of the industry, a new poll commissioned by SNN found — but the vast majority of people believe that the government has not done enough to support the facilities during the pandemic. Only 3% of people have […]
Over the holiday weekend, the Associated Press published an article on the frustratingly slow progress of universal COVID-19 testing in nursing homes. The news agency rightfully pointed out that due to the logistical challenges of supplying and executing 1.3 million tests for each of the nation’s nursing home residents, such a task would be difficult […]
Genesis Healthcare (NYSE: GEN) reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2020, and provided the first look into the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on its operations. The Kennett Square, Pa.-based Genesis — which operates almost 400 skilled nursing, assisted/senior living, and behavioral health centers located in 26 states — saw a […]
The federal government last week cautiously began laying formal groundwork for reopening the nation’s nursing homes, which have been under COVID-19 lockdown orders since the middle of March. But many experts both inside and outside the industry have asserted that nursing facilities can’t even think about returning to normalcy without substantially more financial and material […]
As skilled nursing facilities try to contain COVID-19 within their walls, or prevent it from entering at all, the skyrocketing cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a significant stumbling block to their efforts. Without the proper PPE, staffers are at risk of contracting the virus as they care for COVID-19-positive patients, while residents […]
The federal government on Friday announced the distribution of almost $4.9 billion in COVID-19 relief funds directly to skilled nursing facilities, the first specific tranche of stimulus money for the industry released since the start of the pandemic. Each skilled nursing facility in the country will receive a baseline paymentof $50,000, plus an additional $2,500 […]
When Renee Lohman, the founder and former CEO of the CareWell Urgent Care chain of clinics in Massachusetts, was seeking a new opportunity in health care, she didn’t have to look far past her own experience with a family member in a skilled nursing facility. “I was pretty well stunned by the 1970s physical plant,” […]
The nation’s largest organization representing nursing homes on Wednesday pegged the one-time cost of testing each resident and staff member in the United States at $440 million, arguing that substantially more funding for long-term care will be necessary to meet more stringent testing mandates. The American Health Care Association arrived at that figure by adding […]
The stabilized occupancy rate for nursing care fell sharply in April due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a snapshot from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) released on Tuesday. Nursing care occupancy last month dropped 220 basis points to 84.7% from March to April in NIC’s selection […]
One day after the federal government released tentative guidance for easing visitation restrictions at the nation’s nursing homes, the CEO of one of the top providers in the space cautioned that it’s still too early to consider widespread reopening. “We expect that to continue at least for another month or two, even though there are […]
Skilled nursing telehealth provider Call9 last year became another casualty of a central tension between innovation and reality: The law often takes years to catch up to new technology. But a crisis can accelerate the glacial rule-making process, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government erased decades of telehealth law in a matter of […]
ProMedica saw improvement in its HCR ManorCare nursing home business line during the first quarter of 2020, though the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a long-term unknown for the health system. The Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica pulled in $17.1 million in income associated with its ManorCare business to start 2020, according to its most […]
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% […]
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed deep cracks in the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care providers, but nursing homes — which under normal circumstances do not require nearly as much as they do now — have felt particular strain. In northern New Jersey, a non-profit senior care operator has been forced […]
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. […]
The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) has been on a roll for countless quarters, and not even the early effects of a world-historic pandemic were enough to prevent the skilled nursing heavyweight from logging another record quarter to start 2020. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator saw a 28.3% increase in its per-share earnings over the […]
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 […]
Like many other nursing home operators, Diversicare Healthcare Services (OTC: DVCR) hasn’t been able to access sufficient COVID-19 testing supplies for all of its workers and residents. But among those who have tested positive, more than half displayed no symptoms at the time, a fact that the company says underscores the dire need for more […]
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 […]