Nursing Home Reimbursement Pressure ‘Flat Out Profound,’ Necessitating Innovative Models

It’s becoming harder than ever to operate standalone skilled nursing facilities amid inadequate government funding, and innovative business models that deal with challenges, especially those related to staffing, have and will be borne from necessity. “Innovative models are going to present themselves in some way to stop this train,” said Dan Hermann, president and CEO […]

Skilled Nursing Game Changer: Calls for Innovation in HUD Financing Gain Momentum

Lenders, operators, industry lobbying organizations and consumer advocates all agree that an expansion of skilled nursing financing programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could be a game-changer in driving much-needed innovation. Building on suggestions from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the authors of a recent Health Affairs […]

Why HUD Financing Has Potential to Propel the Nursing Home Industry Forward

Loans and other types of financing through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may be key to incentivizing operators to seek innovation, such as scaling the small home model in a meaningful way – but the program isn’t quite at that point yet. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report […]

No Innovation Without Compensation: SNFs Need Federal Support to Realize Biden’s Private Room Plans

Movement at the state and federal level has prompted an expedited shift to more private settings in nursing homes. While the trend isn’t entirely new for the industry, the push from government agencies to make it a compliance issue has garnered mixed reactions. The Biden administration called for reduced room crowding in nursing homes in […]

How Otterbein Built a Green House Nursing Home Network — With a $12M Plan to Grow

Like many senior living and care executives, Jill Wilson’s first reaction to the “small home” model of nursing homes was a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. The year was 2004, and Wilson was the chief financial officer of Otterbein SeniorLife, a Lebanon, Ohio-based non-profit that runs senior living communities and standalone nursing campuses. The CEO […]

Rethink Podcast #32: Susan Ryan of The Green House Project

The 32nd episode of our podcast, Rethink, is now available! After a disheartening experience working in nursing homes, former director of nursing Susan Ryan spent years spearheading initiatives designed to keep the elderly out of institutional care settings at all costs. But over time, she came to believe that there would always be a need […]

Green House Senior Director: If Nursing Homes Can’t Embrace Change Post-COVID, ‘Shame on Us’

After a disheartening experience working in nursing homes, former director of nursing Susan Ryan spent years working on initiatives designed to keep the elderly out of institutional care settings at all costs. But over time, she came to believe that there would always be a need for skilled nursing facilities to serve a specific portion […]

How a Nursing Home Developer Made Green Houses Work: ‘It’s Not Hard to Pencil Out’

COVID-19 has prompted the media and general public to consider the state of the standard nursing home more closely than ever, and many national outlets have turned to the Green House model as the prime example of the way forward. These “small-house” style developments eschew the traditional institutional nursing home structure for multiple cottages with […]

Green House Project Expands Short-Term Rehab Focus to Meet Expected Demand

The Green House Project, a non-profit that offers alternatives to traditional nursing homes, this week launched an initiative designed to broaden its reach — including a financial feasibility model and a newfound focus on short-term rehab services. Both financial feasibility and the growth of short-term rehab are looming factors in the skilled nursing world, where […]

How One Skilled Nursing Provider’s Small House Gamble Paid Off

Using the money it had already set aside for annual capital improvements, an upstate New York skilled nursing provider decided to bet big on a conversion to the “small house” model — and now it has some solid metrics to show for it, including an impressive jump in the proportion of private-pay residents. About 10 years […]