Soaring With Seniors
Think about the thrill for your residents, flying in the cockpit of a two-seat biplane, soaring above the land, and free of charge. Imagine you are 90 years old and living in a senior living community, and maybe a war veteran. Life may not be as exciting as it was, especially if you are not very mobile. But also imagine if, free of charge, you could spend 15 to 20 minutes flying around in a 1940’s-vintage biplane. That is the mission of Ageless Aviation Dreams, founded in 2011 by Darryl and Carol Fisher (Mission Senior Living). So far, they have completed 3,940 “missions” in 45 states for these deserving residents of your senior living communities, at no cost to you, other than getting... Read More »
Where Is the Seniors Housing Rebound?
Seniors housing occupancy rates still remain low despite an apparent slowdown in new development. Whether you look at the total market, or simply the stabilized properties, second quarter occupancy took a small dip, according to recent numbers from NIC. Truth be told, I was hoping for a slight increase after a relatively modest flu season, even though it did seem to linger. But NIC’s numbers are at the midpoint of the quarter, so things could be more positive by now. It is still assisted living that is experiencing the continuing problems, dropping 20 basis points sequentially to 87.7% for stabilized communities, but 85.1% when the rest are included. One could look on the bright side and... Read More »
Brookdale Activists On The Move
Brookdale Senior Living investor Land & Buildings has nominated Jonathan Litt and Jay Flaherty to Brookdale’s board. Still pushing for a REIT spin-off? He’s baaaack. After his 10-year stint as CEO of HCP, Inc., which included his ill-fated and ill-timed acquisition of the former HCR ManorCare, Jay Flaherty may be back in the senior care mix. That is, if Jonathan Litt of Land & Buildings has his way. Land & Buildings Capital Growth Fund, LP has delivered notice to Brookdale Senior Living that it is nominating Flaherty and Litt for election to the company’s board of directors. We shall see how that flies with the current Brookdale board. Our guess is that they will not go... Read More »
The Disgraceful Democratic Debates
The presidential debates last week had a glaring hole, one that everyone should be concerned about. I don’t know about you, but I watched all four hours of the presidential debates last week. I do sort of thrive on those things. But didn’t you think there was something missing? Something major that was not asked? There was not one question from the moderators about fixing Social Security, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or our growing national debt. The Social Security “trust fund” is projected to be depleted in 16 years, just when the last boomer turns 71. Next year it will spend more than it takes in for the first time in nearly 40 years. Medicare’s hospital insurance “trust fund” is expected... Read More »
