• 60 Seconds with Swett: The Problem with CMS Interpretive Guidelines

    Just a day after we highlighted the potential downsides of overregulation of assisted living from the federal level, a case of regulatory overreach involving a nursing home just headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District in hopes of overturning a $1.8 million civil monetary penalty. Without getting into the minutiae too much, the... Read More »
  • Kayne Anderson Fund Tops Target

    The familiar refrain continues, with more capital continuing to flow into the seniors housing industry, property prices should keep rising. Kayne Anderson Real Estate, the real estate private equity arm of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., has closed the largest opportunistic equity fund in its history, at more than 70% above its initial... Read More »
  • Well-Performing Full-Continuum Community Sells

    Blueprint announced its role in the sale of Morningstar at Golden Ridge, a seniors housing community in Peoria, Arizona (Phoenix MSA). Built in 2019, the community has 38 independent living, 65 assisted living and 35 memory care units. It is nearly fully occupied. The community is one of the newest and most well-appointed assets within a... Read More »
  • Kaplan Development Divests to Cedarwood Group

    Cedarwood Group closed its acquisition of Saranac Village at Will Rogers, a 75-unit independent living community in Saranac Lake, New York. The seller was Kaplan Development Group, which took over Will Rogers after the first year of it being open as a senior living community. The community was originally built in 1928 as a Tudor-style... Read More »
  • Omega Welcomes New CEO and CFO

    Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc.’s President, Matthew Gourmand will become the REIT’s Chief Executive Officer in conjunction with the planned retirement of Taylor Pickett, effective October 1, 2026. Pickett will also step down from the Board of Directors upon his retirement, and the Board of Directors intends to appoint Gourmand to the Board,... Read More »
Highmark Assumes Management of Iowa Portfolio

Highmark Assumes Management of Iowa Portfolio

Highmark Senior Living, a Hubbell Realty Co. affiliate that manages six communities with over 290 residents, has taken over management of a portfolio of Edencrest senior living communities spread throughout Iowa. The communities include Edencrest at Beaverdale (built in 2017), Edencrest at Green Meadows (2016), Edencrest at The Legacy (2018), Edencrest at Riverwoods (2014), Edencrest at Siena Hills (2017), Edencrest at Timberline (2023) and Edencrest at Tuscany (2021). Read More »
Some Providers Still Stuck In Pandemic Swamp

Some Providers Still Stuck In Pandemic Swamp

Diversified Healthcare Trust reported on the December performance of its seniors housing operators, and let’s just say it seems that little progress has been made.  In the seniors housing operating portfolio (SHOP) operated by Aleris/Five Star, with 117 communities and 16,951 units, in 2023 census increased by only 240 basis points to 80.4% in December. But that is not the major problem. The average monthly rate has held fairly stable, ending the year at $4,429 compared with $4,278 in January last year. The problem has been expenses, which increased by 11% over the year, jumping by 5% from November to December alone. That resulted in a plunge in NOI in December to $4.0 million,... Read More »
Thank You, FBI Agent James Dennehy

Thank You, FBI Agent James Dennehy

All we can say is, it is about time. We have complained for several years that something needs to be done about the bad apples (criminals) that have given the nursing home industry a bad reputation, and sullied the reputations of all those who are trying hard to provide the best care they can, given the tough environment. Probably the worst abuser of the system, and someone who should have been put in jail a while ago and never allowed to own, operate or get a license for a nursing home ever again, has finally agreed to plead guilty to a $38 million tax fraud. We are referring, of course, to the notorious Joseph Schwartz, owner of Skyline Healthcare, who walked away from about 100 nursing... Read More »
Greystone’s New Addition

Greystone’s New Addition

David Young has joined Greystone as a Managing Director for healthcare finance. He will be focusing on originating and structuring senior loans for the company’s FHA lending platform, as well as other financing options such as bridge, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Based in the New York area, Young reports to Christopher Clare, Managing Director for healthcare finance.  Prior to joining Greystone, Young was a Managing Director at Locust Point Capital, where he originated and structured over $2 billion in seniors housing and skilled nursing debt and equity, including preferred and joint venture capital. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO for Radiant Senior Living. While at Radiant,... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Healthcare M&A Totals

60 Seconds with Swett: Healthcare M&A Totals

We know that seniors housing and care dealmakers pushed M&A activity to its second-highest total ever in 2023, with around 490 transactions, and counting. But what about the whole healthcare industry, which our sister publication LevinPro HC tracks? For the year, the 12 other healthcare sectors we cover, from Behavioral Health and Home Health to Hospitals and Physician Medical Groups, a total of 2,154 transactions were publicly announced, a 12% decline from the 2,443 transactions disclosed in 2022, which was a record-high. It also fell 4% short of 2021’s total, but historically, anything above 2,000 is on another level. After all, 2019 only reached around 1,400 deals.  All sectors... Read More »
LTC Properties Completes Brookdale Portfolio Restructuring

LTC Properties Completes Brookdale Portfolio Restructuring

Even though it took a year, the 35 assisted living communities that had been leased by LTC Properties to Brookdale Senior Living have now found homes, with some being new. The leases were set to expire at the end of 2023, and in early 2023 discussions began in earnest. It appeared that Brookdale did not want to renew at the then existing lease rate, at least not for all 35, so it looked like they were going to walk. What is often forgotten in these negotiations is how much overhead these portfolios cover, especially when concentrated in areas where the tenant already has many other properties. After looking like Brookdale was putting them in the rearview mirror, they came back to the table... Read More »