


300 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Silverado, COVID and Lawsuits
I have been uncharacteristically quiet about the news last month from the People’s Republic of California, or should I say, from Comrade DA George Gascon of Los Angeles. No more. I am referring, of course, to the criminal charges against Silverado, its CEO Loren Shook, Kimberly Butrum, SVP of clinical services, and Jason Russo, the administrator at the Silverado Alzheimer’s facility where there was a major COVID outbreak in early 2020. The trio faces a total of 13 felony counts of elder endangerment and five felony counts of violation causing death. The company itself also faces charges. What we know is that a retired physician flew in from New York City to Los Angeles late on March... Read More »
60 Seconds with Ben Swett: Q1:23 M&A Activity Fails to Surpass 100 Deals
The first quarter is in the books, and M&A activity, to no one’s surprise, fell in the seniors housing and care market and seems to have settled at a new, lower level. We recorded 95 publicly announced transactions in the first three months of the year, which is down 15% from the 112 deals announced in Q4:22. You don’t have to go too far back in history to find a slower dealmaking quarter; that was Q1:21 when we recorded just 85 transactions. Vaccines were just starting to be distributed back then, and investors were understandably waiting to see the results, which, thankfully, were extremely positive and ushered in the busiest period of M&A activity in history. That brings up an... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Here I Go Again
Ziegler recently came out with its quarterly analysis of the CCRC market (LPC for the not-for-profit world, but we still prefer to use CCRC), and once again, their performance is rocking. Ziegler uses statistics provided by NIC MAP. CCRC occupancy far exceeds assisted living and independent living communities on average, and not-for-profit CCRCs are performing better than for-profits. In the fourth quarter of 2022, occupancy at NFP CCRCs averaged 88.2%, while for profits were 84.3%. Not bad, right? CCRCs in general performed better during the pandemic than other senior living property types partly because their residents tend to be healthier. This makes sense. Two months ago, I toured a... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: SNFs, Here We Go Again
As long as they keep making some stupid conclusions, I am going to have a say on it. I am talking about the most recent study appearing in Health Affairs blasting PE and REIT ownership for a lack of transparency and a cut in nursing hours after an acquisition. First, I do agree there should be more transparency in general since nursing homes are receiving about 90% of their revenues from the government. But once again, these researchers seem to be missing the point and simply jumping on the Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders bandwagon. Or is it Joe Biden? When a REIT buys a nursing home, it has little say over the operations, but can advise the provider, especially if things go... Read More »