The Labor Problem and Culture
As we approach Labor Day, we really need to work on solving the industry’s labor problems. I know it’s a bit of a cliché to talk about labor just before Labor Day, but what the Hell. To me, this is the most pressing issue for the entire seniors housing and care industry. Not only because labor represents well more than half of your costs, but because your employees are so critical in their interaction with your customers, both the residents and the family members. And to your success. But you know all this. Why is it that every time I walk into a hotel, from the bellhop to the desk clerk to the housekeeper walking down the hall, they all greet me with a smile and a hello? Are they... Read More »
Diversicare Healthcare Services Trending Dangerously Low
Shareholders of Diversicare Healthcare Services have been pummeled recently, with the share price down about 65% in the past 12 months, and down 40% since July 1. Not what shareholders want to see, especially with the markets as strong as they have been (with the frequent hiccups, of course). The company is the smallest of the publicly traded skilled nursing companies, with 72 SNFs and 8,214 beds in operation as of June 30 plus an additional 429 assisted living and personal care beds. But to report adjusted EBITDA of just $600,000 in the second quarter was, well, just too much, and the news sent the price diving. Year-over-year skilled nursing occupancy declined by 130 basis points to... Read More »
PDPM and Skilled Nursing: Profit or Peril?
We attended the 2019 Zimmet Healthcare Seminar: The Theory of Reimbursementivity in Atlantic City a couple of weeks ago, and let’s just say the mood was…cautiously optimistic. Most of you have seen the numbers. CMS proposed a 2.8% increase to the Medicare market basket rate in the final rule, resulting in $851 million more in payments for nursing facilities in the coming fiscal year, which begins in just five weeks on October 1. Well-operating SNFs should see a healthy revenue bump under PDPM, or Patient Driven Payment Model. But there’s a key word there: “should.” A big takeaway from the Zimmet conference is that, the industry won’t really know the real impact of PDPM until it is actually... Read More »
Is Alaska’s Problem A Look At Our Future?
Cuts to Alaska’s elderly funding was front-page news recently. I figured it was fate when, on my first day on vacation in Alaska last week, the headline of the major newspaper talked about the elimination of senior benefits. Then, in the hotel lobby was a separate publication, Senior Voice, and a story about the ABCs of selecting an assisted living “home.” Let’s just say, I felt right at home. That lead story told how more than 13,000 Alaskan seniors would be losing a monthly benefit check of just under $200, with the governor vetoing a plan to restore it with just three days’ notice. Sounds like chump change, until you consider that many of these people relied on that and a social... Read More »
The Skilled Nursing Rebound
Average prices per bed ticked up over the past four quarters, and Genesis Healthcare posted better results. In this month’s SeniorCare Investor, I talked about the recent rise in the average price per bed for skilled nursing facilities for the most recent trailing four quarters. A small rise, but up nonetheless. Perhaps the start of a SNF rebound. And then Genesis Healthcare reported its second quarter results, and while they still have a ways to go, they too have seen some improvement. Small, but we will take it. Compared with the year-ago quarter, occupancy was up 250 basis points to 86.6% and the EBITDAR margin was up 79 basis points to 13.6%. Now, some of this improvement most likely... Read More »Schedule a demo
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