Assisted living occupancy declines to new low
NEW YORK: The occupancy rate for majority assisted living communities hit another record-low level, falling to 79.5% in August across the primary markets tracked by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC).
That’s a decline of 5.7 percentage points on a three-month rolling basis, according to the latest intra-quarterly snapshot report from NIC.
Assisted living occupancy has been falling since the Covid-19 pandemic reached the United States in the spring, but August did see a new development: For the first time during the pandemic, assisted living occupancy declined at a slower rate than independent living occupancy. Majority IL properties experienced a 0.8 percentage point decline, versus 0.6 percentage points for majority AL properties.
However, occupancy trends varied from market to market.
For instance, Tampa experienced the steepest drop in independent living census in August, among the NIC primary markets, posting an 82.5% occupancy rate. Sacramento, by contrast, saw IL occupancy tick up slightly to 87.6%.
— Spot occupancy across the senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP) of real estate investment trust Ventas (NYSE: VTR) was 79.8% as of Sept. 10, according to a company presentation. Move-ins and leads trended higher in August than in July, but Ventas still anticipates that sequential same-store occupancy will be lower in Q3 2020 than in Q2 2020. As of August, average monthly operating expenses were trending about 3% lower versus what they were in the second quarter. On the triple-net lease portfolio, the REIT expects to address two additional tenants, at which point the company will have addressed 70% of operators in an effort to improve coverage and respond to pandemic-related challenges.
— Occupancy declined 50 basis points in August to reach 83.9% across the portfolio of New York City-based real estate investment trust New Senior Investment Group (NYSE: SNR). As of Sept. 14, the REIT’s operators reported seven currently active Covid-19 cases across seven communities, according to a presentation posted Tuesday. New Senior’s portfolio consists of 102 independent living assets and one triple-net leased asset.
— The federal government has purchased 150 million Covid-19 antigen tests and within the next two to three weeks will begin distributing them to long-term care providers, including assisted living communities, according to a Tuesday update from Argentum. The industry group also sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar outlining recommendations related to testing policies and plans, including the need for providers to have a CLIA certificate of waiver, as well as the potential to test family members of residents.
“Protecting older adults from Covid-19, as well as the employees who care for them, needs to be among the highest priorities in final testing plans, with a number of objectives in mind,” Argentum President and CEO James Balda stated. “We have made clear that these plans should consider not only residents and staff, but also family members, to allow for the opportunity for socialization that has been so critically lacking over the past six months. Final plans should also account for financial reimbursement, utilization guidance, state guidance, and legal protections, among other considerations.”
— OnShift has added OnShift Time to its human capital management platform. The new time and attendance software will give senior living providers the ability to eliminate time clocks, saving labor-related costs while enhancing infection control.
“The pandemic has unfortunately had a devastating impact on healthcare providers, employees and those they serve,” said OnShift CEO Mark Woodka. “With the addition of OnShift Time to our portfolio of workforce solutions, we are giving providers even more capabilities to help them battle Covid-19. We continue to partner with our customers and other providers to keep their communities safe. We are in this together.”
— “We are deeply concerned that there has been no visible progress on negotiations for the next coronavirus legislation, much less an agreed-upon legislative vehicle. For the people we represent – nonprofit aging services providers including nursing homes, home health, assisted living, hospice, home and community-based services providers, and affordable senior housing – this crisis is not over,” LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan wrote in a Sept. 15 letter to Congressional leaders. The letter also lays out the organization’s key requests, including that the next Covid-19 relief package includes funds for “premium pay” for essential workers, and expanding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to organizations of all sizes.