Top Skilled Nursing Trends for 2025

Despite the sector continuing to grapple with staffing shortages, rising operational costs, and regulatory uncertainty, emerging trends have skilled nursing leaders gearing up for a positive 2025, with fewer challenges and more opportunities on the horizon. As we look ahead, several key trends are expected to shape the sector from regulatory shifts to financial turbulence, […]

Future Leader: Melinda Monasterski, Market Operations Advisor, Genesis Healthcare

Melinda Monasterski, market operations advisor for Genesis Healthcare, has been named a 2024 Future Leader by Skilled Nursing News. To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40-years-old or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and […]

Genesis HealthCare Exec: Recruit Winning SNF Teams with Strategic Playbook Inspired by College Athletics

Nursing home operators could strengthen their workforces by taking lessons from the way colleges and universities strategically recruit football players and other athletes. That’s an idea put forward by Nicole Kaufman, chief transformation officer at Genesis HealthCare, at the recent Skilled Nursing News RETHINK conference in Chicago. Kennett Square, Pennsylvania-based Genesis is one of the […]

Nursing Home Giants Genesis, Creative Solutions Name New COOs, Consulate Appoints CEO

Lauren Murray-O’Donnell was assigned as the new COO at Genesis HealthCare in August. Starting out as a social worker, Murray-O’Donnell comes with 30 years of experience in long-term care, with more than 25 years of it spent at Genesis. At Genesis, she served in various roles, including licensed nursing home administrator, regional VP of operations, […]

Alleged Trump Shooter Was Dietary Aide at Genesis HealthCare Facility, Had Clean Background

The 20-year-old alleged shooter involved in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life was a dietary aide at a Pennsylvania nursing home, with a clean background check, and worked well with colleagues. Crooks, who recently graduated with an associate degree in engineering science from the Community College of Allegheny County, had worked at […]

It Takes a Village: Nursing Home Clinical Specialty Programs Harness Hospital Partnerships and Internal Teams

Specialized clinical programs at nursing homes, tailored to specific patient populations, are gaining popularity. Their success and longevity depend on forging close partnerships with local hospitals to address gaps in care – a feature that is also expected to alleviate backlogs at hospitals.  In creating strong clinical programs at SNFs, hospitals – can and do […]

‘The Safe Discharge’: Challenges Behind Balancing Care and Cost in Value-Based Care at Nursing Homes

Reimbursement issues at nursing homes are pushing operators to adapt their payment models to increase reliance on Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). But while these models aim to enhance care quality even as they control costs, they also bring on unique challenges, including requiring extra oversight with discharges and related […]

The Clinical Dashboard: Julie Britton, Chief Clinical Officer, Genesis HealthCare

In this Clinical Dashboard Series interview, Julie Britton, Chief Clinical Officer at Genesis Healthcare, joins Skilled Nursing News to discuss her views and hopes for her ideal clinical dashboard. Britton holds multiple degrees and certifications in nursing, has over 30 years of health care experience, and takes part in many committees and programs dedicated to […]

Nursing Home Leaders from Genesis, Ignite, Diakonos, Avamere On Why ‘Super SNF’ May Replace Hospital-Based Recovery Care

The “super SNF,” an insider term used for nursing homes that serve mostly high acuity patients, is evolving to enhance its specialized function, and leaders in the space believe it will be a replacement – or at least a supplement – for long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). The latest changes […]

Welltower Touts Margin Gains in 7-Property SNF Portfolio, Teases Similar Approach Across Integra JV

Leaders with Welltower (NYSE: WELL) are touting improvements in a portfolio of seven skilled nursing facilities, saying that a similar playbook is being deployed across the large portfolio of SNFs in its joint venture with Integra Health. The seven SNFs in question transitioned from being operated by Genesis HealthCare to Complete Care Management, in 2021. […]

5 Skilled Nursing Providers to Watch in 2023

With reporting from Tim Mullaney and Zahida Siddiqi With the number of nursing home beds in decline across the United States — and providers large and small divesting of facilities, exiting the industry or shutting down completely — some organizations are finding ways to grow. Expansion is one theme uniting this year’s skilled nursing providers […]

Ensign Adds 17 Skilled Nursing Communities as Sabra Deal Closes 

The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) on Wednesday announced that the company is assuming operations of 17 skilled nursing communities in California, as part of a previously announced deal with Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA). That deal involves 20 communities total, which previously were operated by North American Health Care. The properties located in Ensign’s […]

Genesis Adding 38 Nursing Homes in Largest Expansion Since ‘Market Model’ Launch

Genesis Healthcare Inc. will add 34 nursing homes in Pennsylvania to the 15 the company currently operates in the state, in addition to taking over management of four in Colorado. “This transition marks the largest expansion of services provided by Genesis and its affiliates since the organization underwent a transformation into a market model approach […]

Top Skilled Nursing Trends for 2023

Economic uncertainty, staffing shortages, looming federal regulations, a new COVID variant and major changes to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) are just a few of the challenges facing the skilled nursing sector at the dawn of 2023. But a new year is also a time for optimism. Favorable Medicaid policies, the growth of strong regional […]

SavaSeniorCare Expects to Cease Operations by Early 2023

After divesting of its sizable portfolio over the course of several years, SavaSeniorCare will cease to exist as a company once its last five nursing homes transition to other operators, which the company expects to occur by the end of January 2023. The end of Atlanta-based Sava marks another sea change in the skilled nursing […]

Sabra CEO: North American Portfolio Transition to Ensign, Avamere is ‘Best Possible Outcome’

Nursing home operators continue to reevaluate their position at this stage of the pandemic, as the industry continues to tackle a historic workforce shortage – some, like North American Health Care Inc., have decided to downsize in order to better manage existing properties. This shift to a more conservative strategy serves as the backdrop to […]

Ensign COO: No Slowing Down on Deals as 3Q Marks Busiest Acquisition Quarter in Years

The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) kept busy during the third financial quarter, signing off on a whopping 17 new skilled nursing deals. Ensign COO Chad Keetch told listeners during the company’s latest earnings call on Thursday that it was “one of the biggest” acquisition quarters in several years. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator is […]

Rethinking the Role of the Nursing Home CEO

Doing away with large, multi-layered corporate structures, as some of the largest skilled nursing operators have done in recent months, has given companies both big and small the opportunity to assess — and in some cases — rethink the role of the company’s top executive. Iowa-based Accura HealthCare CEO Ted LeNeave purposely placed himself at […]