


Brookdale’s June Occupancy Should Be Higher
Brookdale Senior Living reported June and second quarter 2024 occupancy, and while census increased, is it enough to carry them through next year’s winter season? Probably not, unless they have a huge July and August, which is possible, but not likely. Weighted average occupancy for June came in at 78.2%, up 10 basis points sequentially, but still below every month in the fourth quarter last year. Month-end occupancy was a little better, at 79.7%, up 20 basis points from May and up 50 basis points from April. But that 79.7% occupancy at the end of June is exactly the same as the end of September last year. That is not progress. The press release had a great line. “Both June and... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Overturning Chevron and the Effects on M&A
There has been a lot of news to analyze from Washington, D.C. in the last couple of weeks, and the result of the 2024 election will certainly impact the operational and investment landscape in senior care. But we are still wrapping our heads around perhaps the most consequential news of late for the industry, which was the Supreme Court’s overruling of the Chevron doctrine, the 40-year judicial standard that had given a lot of leeway for administrative bodies to interpret statutes and implement regulations across the country. The case overturning Chevron is known as Loper. Now, it is up to the courts to determine those administrations’ regulatory powers, and ultimately Congress will... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Mad as Hell
We are halfway through the year, and I am already angry. Angry at what, you may ask? All the interference from government, both elected officials and the bureaucrats. From people who think they understand how seniors housing should work. From the unions. From the anti-PE firm groups. I always say, do a few 12-hour shifts, or move in for a few days, and then tell me what you think. It is not easy, and most people are doing the best they can. Regardless, I am mad as Hell and getting tired of it all. Except, and not to sound hypocritical, but I had to smile when I read about the investigations into A Place for Mom, a service that I always had my suspicions about. A service that many... Read More »
Beth Mace New Director at Brookdale
Brookdale Senior Living recently held its annual meeting of shareholders, and Beth Mace was voted in as a new member of its Board of Directors. Not only that, but she received more votes than any other nominee (157,658,156), and fewer “against” votes than any other nominee. As readers know, we have complained that for many years Brookdale’s board has lacked any outside directors with any real knowledge of the seniors housing business, and now they have one. Beth recently retired as the head of research at NIC, and had been responsible for providing financial data to the industry to try to help investors and lenders understand certain dynamics, and how those dynamics... Read More »