Many Impacts of COVID, But “Stupidity” Factor May Grow
The views on where we are in this pandemic are bifurcating, just like in the acquisition market, but we are also dealing with the “stupidity” factor. Just like in the acquisition market, where values and cap rates have been bifurcating between the top “A” properties and the rest of the market, so are opinions as to the current state of the market and what we can expect next year and beyond. There are those who believe operating costs are getting back to normal, the lending market has strengthened with pent up demand to provide financing, and that values are firming, helped by historically low interest rates. Then there are those who see a long slog through this pandemic mess,... Read More »
The Great Re-Opening
It is fair to say that the economic shutdown, especially as it concerns senior care providers, could have been handled better (you think?). There was little consistency from state to state, and from one type of senior care provider to another. We spoke to some providers who never stopped admitting residents, and others where there was a total shut down of new admissions with no clarity on when that might change. Mayors argued with governors who argued with the White House. From the federal level to the local level, if one were grading the handling of the crisis, it would be an F. Who can forget New York Governor Cuomo forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients, issuing... Read More »
The Labor Problem That Does Not Go Away
The pandemic should provide the reason, and time, for providers to re-think labor. When the weekly unemployment filings broke records last spring, there were some people who thought that with millions of workers newly unemployed, the labor crisis afflicting senior care might ease. As far as we have heard, it has not. An unintended consequence of this pandemic is that with census nationally dropping by 1,000 basis points, or more, staffing needs have dropped as well. Fewer people to feed and care for means not as much staff needed, at least in theory. So far, we have not heard of unemployed workers lining up to work in nursing homes or assisted living communities. Most likely the two... Read More »
The “Forgotten Middle” Returns
As occupancy levels continue to drop or remain subdued because of the pandemic, there seems to be less talk about the so-called “forgotten middle,” those seniors who can’t afford, but may need or want, some sort of senior living option. The NIC presented the findings of its study on this topic last year, and it created a lot of excitement. But the focus has shifted to dealing with declining census and profits. Mary Ann Donaghy, formerly the Chief Marketing Officer at NIC and now an independent consultant, recently posted an interesting article on LinkedIn about the topic, specifically how to move from theory to reality in developing a real plan for dealing with this... Read More »
Regaining The Trust of the Consumer
If you believe the results of a recent survey done by Transcend Strategy Group, the senior living industry has a lot of work to do to get the consumer back on board. A company called Transcend Strategy Group just came out with the results of a survey of 1,000 family caregivers. Of this group, 65% said that COVID-19 has completely changed their opinions about the best way to care for aging seniors, and 68% did not agree that quality care can be provided in “facilities.” Worse yet, 78% are concerned about their loved one catching the virus in a “facility.” These are not good numbers for our sector. But, there were ways to change these opinions. They centered on facilities providing... Read More »Schedule a demo
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