Dwight Capital Closes 2Q With $297.6M in Financing; Senwell Inks Deal on 4-Facility Senior Care Portfolio

Dwight Capital and its mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) affiliate Dwight Mortgage Trust ended the second financial quarter with $297.6 million in seniors and health care financings. Notable transactions from Q2 included bridge loans for an eight-property SNF portfolio in Minnesota, along with New Jersey-based Riverfront Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center and continuing care retirement […]

The Case For And Against a Nursing Home Industry Crisis

Whether it’s uttered during an interview, highlighted during an industry conference or referenced in a news release, I’ve heard and seen the word “crisis” quite often during my time reporting on the skilled nursing industry. And it’s not surprising the word has been used so frequently. Covid-19 was a global crisis that hit the nursing […]

Wisconsin’s $6M CNA Training Investment Could Serve as Model For Other States

While the staffing crisis continues to have devastating impacts on nursing homes across the country, some states are expanding stopgap measures to recruit and retain positions that are in many ways the backbone of the industry – the certified nursing assistant (CNA). Such initiatives in states like California, Minnesota and Wisconsin come at a time […]

Amazon to Acquire Primary Care Group One Medical in $3.9B Deal

Retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has agreed to buy primary care organization One Medical in a cash deal valued at $3.9 billion. One Medical’s services as a direct-to-consumer membership-based primary care practice involves the use of a mobile app that helps schedule appointments, renew prescriptions and message with a provider. As of March 31, One […]

The Perfect Storm: Nursing Home Industry Outlook is ‘Not Pretty’ Amid Rising Inflation, Labor Costs

Consulting firms in the skilled nursing space are getting a better snapshot of the labor market as data continues to pour in, and the outlook remains bleak – dwindling workforce numbers are running up against increased average cost of labor and overall inflation. While the SNF workforce lost approximately 238,500 staff during the pandemic, an […]

Economic, Staffing Headwinds Continue to Trouble Nursing Homes, But Operators Like Ensign Remain ‘Steady’

As the year so far has brought rising inflation, the looming possibility of a recession and uncertainties around staffing stability and post-Covid demand, there are still operators — like Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) — that have continued on a path toward growth. In a note previewing 2Q earnings for the health care services industry, Stifel […]

Health System, Hospital Acquisitions Show Nursing Homes Still a ‘Critical Ally’

A number of new partnerships have formed between health systems and skilled nursing facilities centered on offering consumers access to new services or services that require specialized skill sets. “A high-performing SNF is a critical ally for health systems, particularly those that are focused on performance in value-based care arrangements or looking to enable earlier […]

Why HUD Financing May Be the Vehicle to Drive Skilled Nursing Innovation

If there’s one financial backing source that’s become a favorite among nursing home owners it’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding. Even still, it may come with some limitations. HUD loans can be used to purchase, build, refinance or remodel nursing homes, among other health care facilities, and their utilization in the […]

Ziegler Closes $24,405,000 in Financing for Eliza Jennings; Blueprint Facilitates Sale of Minnesota SNFs

Specialty investment bank Ziegler closed on Series 2022A Bonds for Ohio-based not-for-profit senior care provider Eliza Jennings. Eliza Jennings owns and operates three senior living campuses with a combined total of 216 skilled nursing beds, 175 independent living apartments and villas and 89 assisted living units. The Renaissance, located on 88 acres in Olmsted Falls, […]

American Hospital Association Blasts ‘Fundamental Flaws’ in Unified Post-Acute Payment Model Draft

The draft version of a unified Medicare payment model for post-acute care contains “numerous fundamental flaws.” That’s according to a statement issued late last week by the American Hospital Association (AHA). Among those flaws, AHA cited the lack of a workable risk adjustment approach and missing reforms outlined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]

Nursing Homes Score Win With 17.5% Medicaid Increase in Pennsylvania for 2023

Some lawmakers are listening to calls for help from the nursing home industry, at least at the state level. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently approved a Medicaid reimbursement increase of 17.5% for the state’s nursing homes for next year, translating to an increase of around $35 per resident per day. The increase to the state’s […]

Nursing Home Industry Adds 5,400 Jobs in June

Hiring in the health care field continues to grow as employers in the sector saw an estimated 56,700 more jobs in the month of June. Nursing care facilities specifically added 5,400 workers last month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, but the industry still employs more than 200,000 fewer workers compared to pre-Covid […]

‘Related Company’ Investments Lead to Nursing Home Profit but Raise Questions About Care Quality

An estimated 72% of New York’s 394 for-profit nursing homes do business with companies that have common or overlapping ownership, a recent report from the Empire Center for Public Policy reveals. The report showed that payments from for-profit nursing homes to these related companies totaled almost $1.1 billion, or 16% of their total expense for […]

CMS Issues Guidance on Five-Star Staffing Measures

Guidance on staffing measures tied to the five-star rating system was released on Thursday – the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its staffing measures to include three on staffing levels and three on staff turnover. Total nurse staffing hours per resident per day on weekends, in addition to previously announced nurse turnover […]

Skilled Nursing Occupancy Rates Continue to Rise in Q2

Nursing home occupancy continues to climb from its pandemic low of 74% in the first quarter of 2021 – the data point currently sits at 78.5%. NIC MAP Vision reported a 0.9 percentage point increase for skilled nursing census during the second financial quarter, but the number remains below pre-pandemic levels of 86.6%. That’s an […]