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Industry VoicesLegal Issues

New Jersey Tightens Workplace Vaccine Requirements for Healthcare, High-Risk Congregate Settings

by Jeff Shaw

By Heather Boshak, partner, Fox Rothschild LLP In January 2022, New Jersey announced new, stricter COVID-19 regulations that will require employees in healthcare facilities to be vaccinated and boosted and will effectively eliminate the testing option. Also covered under the new rules are workers in a range of congregate settings, such as prisons and group homes. As the number of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations declined, we have seen states, cities and private employers easing vaccination and coronavirus mitigation requirements. The exceptions to that trend are the healthcare field, including …

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FeaturesNewsOperations

After 18 Months, Seniors Housing Operators More Adept at Handling COVID-19 Crisis, Says InterFace Panel

by Jeff Shaw

ATLANTA — Seniors housing operators have been grappling the past 18 months with how to maintain their properties and keep occupancy high while also protecting their staff and residents, who are the most vulnerable population for infections and death from the COVID-19 outbreak. With the rise of the Delta variant in recent weeks, owners and operators are having to make tough decisions to care for their residents, although now they have built some muscle memory on how to operate effectively amid the pandemic. “We are better at dealing with COVID-19 …

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FeaturesNews

New Supply Puts Brakes on Occupancy Recovery in Private-Pay Seniors Housing

by Jeff Shaw

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Private-pay seniors housing occupancy remained flat in the second quarter of 2021, holding at 78.7 percent, according to new NIC MAP data, powered by NIC MAP Vision. Though COVID-19 cases in senior living properties dropped significantly in the last quarter, occupancy has not turned the corner, largely due to new inventory coming online. That’s according to new data from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), an Annapolis-based nonprofit firm that tracks industry data gathered from 31 primary metropolitan markets. Private-pay seniors housing comprises independent living, assisted living and memory care. …

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FeaturesNews

Brookdale Occupancy Rises, Showing Signs of Pandemic Recovery

by Jeff Shaw

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) has reported that occupancy across its portfolio has increased for three straight months, signaling a start to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupancy at the end of each month rose from 70.1 percent in February to 70.6 percent in March, 71.1 percent in April and 71.6 percent in May. The Nashville-based company managed 695 communities in 42 states as of March 31.

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FeaturesNews

Webinar Panel: Transactions, Lending, Operations Inch Toward Pre-Pandemic Normalcy

by Jeff Shaw

The seniors housing industry has been through the wringer as a result of the pandemic, setting and then resetting its own record-low occupancy rates as expenses increased for infection control, staffing and construction materials. However, many in the industry are now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The skilled nursing sector has undergone two straight months of rising occupancy rates, and industry experts are seeing the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine taking hold on the industry. “It’s not back to where it was, and it …

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FeaturesNews

NORC Study: 51 Percent of Communities in Five States Reported No COVID Deaths

by Jeff Shaw

CHICAGO — Fifty-one percent of senior housing properties experienced no COVID-19 deaths in 2020, according to an analysis by NORC at the University of Chicago via a grant provided by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Researchers analyzed data for four facility types in more than 100 counties across five states. About two-thirds (67 percent) of independent living properties, 64 percent of assisted living properties, and 61 percent of memory care properties studied experienced no COVID-19-related deaths in 2020. Thirty-nine percent (39 percent) of skilled nursing …

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FeaturesInvestmentNews

JLL: Investors Are Looking Beyond the Pandemic

by Jeff Shaw

CHICAGO — Although the seniors housing industry still faces many challenges, long-term demand still has the sector on a trajectory of growth. That’s according to JLL Valuation Advisory’s fourth annual Seniors Housing Investor Survey and Outlook, released last week. Construction delays resulting from the pandemic will magnify the long-term supply shortage, the report notes. With the baby boomers within approximately 10 years of occupancy, medium- and long-term investment remains positive. Additionally, the need to serve the middle-income population will continue to grow, exacerbated by the global impact of COVID-19. “Investors …

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NewsSkilled Nursing

NIC: Skilled Nursing Occupancy Shows Signs of Stabilization

by Jeff Shaw

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Occupancy at U.S. skilled nursing facilities increased to 71.2 percent in February 2021 compared to 70.7 percent from the previous month, according to NIC MAP data. This raised the sector’s occupancy rate to its December 2020 level. Despite the February improvement, occupancy remains 13.7 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), an Annapolis-based nonprofit data firm, gathers the data from more than 1,400 individual skilled nursing facilities in 48 states. The February NIC MAP occupancy data are starting …

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Industry Voices

Question of the Month: Hurdles to Recovery

by Jeff Shaw

What hurdles does the industry still have to clear before we see occupancy and revenue rebound?   Show our resiliency By Valerie Whitman Vice President of Senior Living LeadingResponse We are a resilient industry. We need to always be sure we show that to the world. As we saw in the last year, our industry was constantly being portrayed as a place where COVID thrived. This information shook consumer confidence and further created misperceptions of truly how safe our communities are. Our hurdle and opportunity is to be transparent and …

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NewsOperations

Brookdale Opens Communities for Indoor Visits

by Jeff Shaw

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A little over a year after visitor restrictions were put into place to help protect residents from COVID-19, Brookdale communities across the country are now able to lift those restrictions to allow both outdoor and indoor visits, subject to specific state guidance. The state regulatory agencies in the 43 states in which Brookdale operates have adapted guidance to align with the recently updated protocols from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and/or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowing assisted living, memory care and skilled …

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