In an unusual move, a large California owner has asked the state to allow it to close three of his SNFs in one county.
My friend Steve Moran had an interesting blog post yesterday about the largest skilled nursing facility owner in California. Apparently, he owns five of the six nursing facilities in a somewhat remote county, and has asked the state for permission to close three of them in Eureka. Now, it could be a ploy to receive higher reimbursement at these Medicaid facilities, as there has been a public outcry to not close them. But with 75% occupancy, and staffing shortages so bad that he has to import temporary staff from out of the area, it would be difficult for anyone to cover costs. As SNF occupancy rates continue to drop, and staffing becomes an ever greater problem, will we be seeing more of these types of situations? Will we need to have the same number of skilled beds available in 20 years for the baby boomers, or fewer? Notice, I didn’t ask whether we will need more. The demand for services will increase, but I really don’t see the boomers clamoring to go to skilled nursing, as “customer choice” will be the mantra. The problem, however, is who will pay for that choice?
Well, that certainly is and will be a continuing problem…..where’s the bucks?
Unfortunately, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) are not looked favorably upon by anyone (EXCEPT FOR PEOPLE WHO REQUIRE THEIR SERVICES).
The current growing trend to expand home based services is great for the folks whose needs can be met in a home setting, however, for a typical nursing home resident that requires 24/7 hours of nursing care the home model cannot meet their needs. Also, the dilemma facing the current SNFs being the shortage of qualified staff will only be exasperated by adding home based services competing for the same staff.
One possible solution would be to reduce the unnecessary costs in SNFs which are driven by many “unnecessary” unfunded mandates by various governmental agencies.
Well said, you have no argument from me.
Steve, any idea who the operator is? maybe we can help with his finances
Rich, please connect with me. I’m a SNF owner operator. Thanks. mahar77@aol.com Tel (915-329-1039