BEAUMONT, Texas — Buckner Retirement Services has named Aaron Ortego as executive director of Calder Woods, a continuing care retirement community in Beaumont, located east of Houston near the Louisiana border. Ortego steps in for the previous executive director, David Ummel, who now serves as executive director of one of Calder Woods’ sister communities, Buckner Westminster Place in Longview. Buckner Retirement Services operated both faith-based, nonprofit senior living communities. Prior to Calder Woods, Ortego served as CEO for Autism Services of Southwest Louisiana and Direct Care Inc. He has also …
Ask senior living CEOs and operators to name their top issue and the answer is the same as it’s been for the last two years: the workforce. Despite a slight easing in the overall employment environment, along with some high-profile tech layoffs, the labor market is still tight. Top executives are laser focused on the task to recruit and retain good workers for a simple reason: They can’t run a highly service-oriented business without help. Seniors aren’t going to move into an understaffed community. “Employees are my number one priority,” …
DES MOINES, Iowa — LCS, the nation’s third-largest senior living operator, has promoted GeLynna Shaw to the role of executive vice president of operations/senior living management. Effective Jan. 1, she will be responsible for supporting Chris Bird, president and chief operating officer, in leading the company’s operating activities. Shaw’s 25-year senior living career includes experience in finance, mergers, acquisitions and operations for both continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and rental communities. She joined LCS in 2018 as the senior vice president of operations for the rental division and has been …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Standard Communities, a developer of affordable housing for seniors and families, has named Feras Qumseya as chief development officer. This is a new position created to lead the new-construction division, a national platform focused on leveraging 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing to build new dedicated affordable housing units in major metropolitan areas. He will be based out of Washington, D.C. Qumseya brings 20 years of experience working on all aspects of affordable housing, economic development, public-private partnerships, large mixed-use projects and transit-oriented developments. …
CMS shifts have added regulatory pressure to staffing urgency. Take a new approach. By Rishabh Parmar It is no secret that staffing shortages have consistently plagued skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), impacting patient care and staff satisfaction. But recent changes in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance have put additional pressure on leaders to solve this crisis. CMS recently updated its Five-Star quality rating system, adding measures for staff turnover and weekend staffing levels. Five-Star quality ratings not only impact insurance reimbursements but inform facility selection by consumers, families …
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lument has hired Justin Elshire as a managing director to lead its new office in Nashville. Elshire is responsible for originating and structuring commercial mortgage loans for seniors housing and healthcare clients across the country, focusing primarily on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture loan programs, as well Lument’s proprietary lending products. He will report to Aaron Becker, Lument’s head of seniors housing and healthcare production. Elshire has over 20 years of financial and commercial real estate experience, most recently …
LITTLETON, Colo. — Anthem Memory Care has named Lebana Prahl as executive director of Willowbrook Place in the Denver suburb of Littleton. She will oversee all daily care, programming and operations. Prahl previously was executive director for HighPointe Assisted Living & Memory Care in Denver. She has also served as executive director for Highlands Assisted Living and Memory Care in Lakeland, Florida. Prahl graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music therapy from Colorado State University. She is a certified dementia practitioner and brings over 26 years of senior living experience …
IRVINE, Calif. — MBK Senior Living, an Irvine-based owner-operator, has hired Rebecca “Becky” Price as vice president of sales and marketing. In her previous role as senior national sales director for Sunrise Senior Living, some of Price’s accomplishments included designing and implementing a sales support program for communities in ground-up development; managing the company-wide internet sales program; increasing team productivity through training and targeted coaching; developing a program for inbound leads with a 6.6 percent year-over-year growth; and partnering with leadership teams in successfully reaching goals and objectives in challenging …
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Anthem Memory Care, a Lake Oswego-based operator, has named Jamie Floyd as regional director of sales and marketing. She is responsible for the overall sales and marketing of 12 communities in Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota, California and Kansas. Floyd previously was vice president, sales, new developments, acquisitions and sales training for Atria Senior Living. She also served as national sales specialist and regional sales manager with Atria and director of marketing and education for Odyssey Healthcare. Throughout her 37-year career in healthcare, Floyd has specialized in sales …
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Steps to Help Small Seniors Housing Owners Prepare for a Sale
The seniors housing market has had its fair share of well-documented struggles, including plunging occupancies during COVID-19 and continuing labor challenges. Like the rest of the commercial real estate market, the sector is now confronting higher interest rates and recession. Despite those headwinds, investor demand for seniors housing assets remains strong, says Dawn Davis, an advisor specializing in seniors housing and skilled nursing with NAI Greywolf in Milwaukee. But sellers are only now grudgingly coming to terms with the fact that, because capital has become more expensive, the price buyers …