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Covid-19 News Bulletin: Atria CEO Says Company ‘Reacting Smartly’ to Cases; Omega Sees Significant Increase in PPE Costs

Senior Housing News recognizes the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we will be updating this bulletin to keep you apprised of the latest developments, focusing on news and information that we identify as especially pertinent to senior living. The team at SHN knows how important your work is right now; we thank you and your teams, and encourage you to reach out to us individually or at editor@seniorhousingnews.com with news items, topics that you believe are important for coverage, or other feedback.

Bulletin for Tuesday, March 31, 2020:

Atria Senior Living CEO John Moore says he is pleased with how the company is responding to the Covid-19 crisis.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how everybody at Atria is rising to the occasion,” Moore said in an interview with Louisville Business First (subscription). “We have resources and talent aimed at supporting all the communities everywhere. It’s going to sound overly simplistic, but I think, as a company we’re reacting smartly and working together. I’m confident that this is going to make us better at what we do.”

Louisville, Kentucky-based Atria is one of the largest senior living providers in the United States, operating more than 200 communities across the U.S. and Canada. Its Atria Willow Wood community in Fort Lauderdale has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus, with six deaths, according to media reports. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Atria for not going far enough in screening staff; in a statement, Atria said those comments from the governor were “inaccurate and unproductive.”

Moore did not tell Louisville Business First how many Atria residents have been diagnosed with or died due to Covid-19, but said that a “handful of communities” have confirmed cases.

“We’re worrying about it (the coronavirus) everywhere,” Moore told Louisville Business First. “We’re tracking anyone anywhere with symptoms.”

Also in the news:

— Hunt Valley, Maryland-based Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) has identified 57 confirmed Covid-19 cases across its portfolio, with 28 facilities impacted — all but one of those are skilled nursing facilities. Like other real estate investment trusts, Omega noted that its operators are experiencing cost increases. Some increases are related to labor — including overtime and bonus pay — as well as a “significant increase” in the cost and usage of personal protective equipment and supplies. The REIT has taken steps to shore up its liquidity and expects to update its earnings guidance when it releases Q1 2020 results.

— Fitch maintained a BBB- rating and negative outlook for Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA). The ratings agency looked favorably upon the REIT’s decision to reduce its upcoming quarterly dividend, made to provide additional liquidity in the face of coronavirus-related uncertainties and challenges.

— Nursing facility care is becoming harder for seniors to access due to Covid-19, according to Dr. Alexander Sasha Rackman, a geriatric medicine physician and assistant professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Older adults living at home are beginning to suffer from a lack of home health care services, as these providers curtail visits to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Rackman wrote in The Hill.

— California has postponed activities related to its Master Plan for Aging as the state responds to Covid-19.

Bulletin for Monday, March 30, 2020:

With senior living providers under financial pressure due to Covid-19, one of the largest ownership groups in the country — Chicago-based real estate investment trust Ventas (NYSE: VTR) — has established a rent deferral program for operators in triple-net leases. This group represents about 20% of Ventas’ portfolio by net operating income.

“Under the program, certain senior housing care providers who are Ventas tenants can defer 25% of their April 2020 payment obligation until the earlier of October 1, 2020 or receipt of government assistance,” the REIT stated in a document filed with the SEC on Monday. “All amounts deferred are required to be used for operating expenses to care for seniors at Ventas communities.”

Total April deferrals could be in the $3 million to $9 million range, Ventas estimates. The REIT collected “substantially all” of its March rent.

Government assistance for senior living operators could be coming through the recently signed $2 trillion stimulus package, which included $100 billion for health care providers. The package also included $500 billion in additional business assistance loans, some of which could flow to senior living providers as well.

Average occupancy in Ventas’ senior housing operating portfolio, which accounts for about 30% of the REITs’ overall NOI, has not been materially affected but trended lower in the second half of March, the company noted in Monday’s SEC filing.

“In addition, inquiries and tours have begun to decrease materially and move-ins have begun to slow,” the document states. “While there is not yet a clear trend, move-outs may become elevated as a result of the pandemic. Finally, operating costs have begun to rise as operators take actions to protect caregivers and residents and increase screening and infection control efforts. Each of these trends accelerated in the second half of March, and may accelerate further as the pandemic continues.”

Out of approximately 70,000 residents in its senior housing operating and triple-net portfolio, about 70 have so far received a positive Covid-19 diagnosis, while 25 staff members have been diagnosed. In all, 33 communities in Ventas’ portfolio have had a positive Covid-19 diagnosis.

The pandemic has put senior housing-focused REITs on a wild stock market ride, with their market caps drastically falling and then recovering somewhat last week as the overall market rebounded. Shares in Ventas were down 5.26% at the end of the trading day on Monday. The firm’s CEO, Debbie Cafaro, appeared on the CNBC show “Mad Money” last week and reassured investors of the company’s “solid and stable” financial position.

Also in the news:

— Executive officers with Dallas-based Capital Senior Living (NYSE: CSU) will not receive an increase in their base salaries for 2020, in light of “current economic conditions.” In addition, the CSU board’s compensation committee has enacted a temporary suspension on equity awards for all directors and officers of the company.

The compensation committee approved retention awards for Capital’s named executive officers and certain other executive officers, equal to 100% of current base salary, with 50% of the award contingent on continuous employment through Sept. 15, 2020, and the remainder contingent on continuous employment through March 15, 2021. Certain performance bonuses are also available to some of the executive officers.

— The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has further expanded telehealth flexibilities in response to Covid-19. The agency is now allowing more than 80 additional services to be furnished via telehealth. Providers can evaluate beneficiaries via audio only, bill for telehealth visits at in-person rates, and can utilize telehealth for emergency department visits, initial nursing facility and discharge visits, home visits and therapy services furnished by a clinician allowed to provide telehealth. Telehealth also can be used to fulfill many face-to-face visit requirements in home health, hospice and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

— The Alzheimer’s Association — in conjunction with several senior living providers including industry giants such as Brookdale and LCS — issued an emergency preparedness guide with best practices in dementia care during Covid-19. The document covers topics such as preventing illness and ways to observe and respond to dementia-related behaviors. Many of these best practices hold true at any time, not just in emergency situations, but the guide may be especially helpful for those who are called on to provide dementia care specifically during the pandemic.

“Maintaining operations in long-term and community-based care settings with the expected staffing shortages during any pandemic, epidemic or disaster can be very challenging,” the document states. “During this time, non-clinical staff may be needed to assist with care.”

— Some family members are taking their loved ones out of senior living communities due to Covid-19, but the decision is a hard one and sometimes results in a discharge, CNN reported: “Another concern in bringing someone home: Some facilities are telling residents that if they leave, even temporarily, they can’t return. That happened to a family in western New York, according to Roxanne Sorensen, a geriatric care manager with Elder Care Solutions of WNY. When this family took their elderly parents out of an assisted living facility for a brief ‘stay-with-us’ respite, they were told the parents had been discharged and had to be placed on a waiting list before they could return.”

Bulletin for the weekend of March 28 and March 29:

Senior living providers are considered “health care providers” and therefore are exempt from certain requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) related to providing paid leave for employees during the Covid-19 outbreak.

President Trump signed the FFCRA on March 18. The act stated that employers with fewer than 500 employees had obligations to offer 10 days of paid sick leave and up to 12 days of paid leave for employees who needed to care for children due to school closures, if certain criteria were met. However, exemptions were available to health care providers; senior living industry groups Argentum and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) pushed for the Department of Labor to clarify the definition of “health care provider” and to include senior living under that definition.

The DOL clarified the definition of “health care provider” in a Q&A document issued Saturday.

“For the purposes of employees who may be exempted from paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave by their employer under the FFCRA, a health care provider is anyone employed at any doctor’s office, hospital, health care center, clinic, post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, medical school, local health department or agency, nursing facility, retirement facility, nursing home, home health care provider, any facility that performs laboratory or medical testing, pharmacy, or any similar institution, employer, or entity,” the document states.

Senior living was not the only health care industry to raise concerns over the FFCRA. For instance, some home health industry voices also warned that the child care-related requirements could be financially unsustainable and winnow the ranks of workers at a time when they are needed on the frontlines of caregiving. Argentum and ASHA joined with home health and home care industry groups to make their case in a March 23 letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia.

“We are gravely concerned, based on prior experience, that absent an exemption from the requirements … we will lack an available workforce able to deliver much needed home health and residential care,” that letter stated.

Many senior living providers are offering paid sick leave and child care benefits to employees in some form. Wilsonville, Oregon-based Avamere, for instance, is offering full pay for any employee who has to miss work due to a Covid-19 quarantine, and is providing up to $50 a day in child care reimbursement.

Also in the news:

— Policies that require nursing homes or assisted living communities to accept “surge” patients from hospitals to free up beds for Covid-19 patients are “short-sighted” and could end up making the problem worse, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) and AMDA the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine warned in a letter issued Sunday.

The groups specifically cited an order in New York state under which nursing homes are cannot deny admission or readmission based “solely” on a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 diagnosis.

“The question all state officials must consider is whether the risk of introducing a virus with an estimated 30% or higher mortality rate into a nursing home or assisted living community outweighs the risk of hospitals being overcrowded,” the letter states. “Regrettably, this is a difficult decision that many officials will be facing now or in the near future.”

Even more than nursing homes, assisted living communities and CCRCs are not equipped to handle “medically complex surge-related discharges,” the letter noted.

— Debt and equity providers are signaling that they will commit to deploying capital until the pandemic subsides and a clearer picture of the economic landscape emerges, according to a state of the market report from Chicago-based lender, Helios Healthcare Advisors.

Lenders are still moving forward with completing previously committed transactions and will focus on existing clients in the short-term.

“Some sophisticated conventional lenders, specialty finance and non-bank lenders who hold large portfolios of healthcare and healthcare real estate loans still open to new business and intend to ‘cherry pick’ best opportunities, however pricing, advance rates, and credit standards are becoming more conservative,” the report notes.

Helios’ analysis echoes observations from panelists during a Thursday webinar on the market landscape hosted by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). The panelists on that webinar warned of “peak volatility” for the industry, but that senior housing is a more stable real estate product than other commercial sectors, and its need-based, recession-resilient components open it up to available sources of liquidity.

— The House of Representatives passed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package on Friday and President Trump signed it, but it was not without some drama.

The House was set to pass the package in a voice vote Friday morning until Rep. Thomas Massie (R – Kentucky) held up the move in favor of a recorded vote.

Massie’s move forced scores of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle scrambling to return the capital, and he was roundly criticized by members of both parties and President Trump, who signed the bill into law.

Senior living providers dealing with mounting expenses responding to the outbreak will be able to apply for relief through a $100 billion public health and social services emergency fund and a $500 billion stabilization fund. The package also includes tax relief measures that can benefit operators.

— Echoing other senior living executives, Notre Dame Health System President and CEO Wayne Plaisance said that personal protective equipment (PPE) is in short supply and “not available at any price.” The Notre Dame system includes three senior housing and care communities in the New Orleans area, one of which — Chateau de Notre Dame — has been identified as a coronavirus cluster by the Louisiana Department of Health.

— An associate at a Brookdale Senior Living community in West Lake Hills, Texas has tested positive for Covid-19, according to KXAN-TV.

The associate has been placed in quarantine and will not be allowed to return to work until testing negative for the virus. Residents, family members and fellow staff have been informed of the situation, and Brookdale is monitoring residents and working with local public health officials to monitor the community for further signs of an outbreak, Brookdale spokeswoman Heather Hunter told the station.

Many of the nation’s largest senior living providers — including Atria Senior Living, Sunrise Senior Living and Five Star Senior Living — are now responding to positive diagnoses of Covid-19 either among residents, staff or both.

— As bans on non-essential visitors stretch into another week, family members of senior living residents are becoming increasingly “agonized” over the forced separation from loved ones, and are particularly fearful of residents “dying alone,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. (Providers such as Brookdale Senior Living have been explicit in stating that visitors will be allows in buildings during end-of-life situations.) Minnesota also passed a $300 million Covid-19 aid package, and Department of Health Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann said that a particular focus is on congregate senior living settings.

Bulletin for Thursday, March 26, 2020:

Covid-19 threatens every senior living and care community across the country, but not all of them face the same level of risk. An interactive map tool has been developed out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that assigns a risk score to nursing homes around the country by ZIP code, and also identifies the number of assisted living beds in those areas.

The tool is a product of the MIT-based Covid-19 Policy Alliance, headed up by two professors at the Sloan School of Business, Simon Johnson and Retsef Levi. Johnson formerly was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and Levi spent more than a decade in the intelligence wing of the Israeli Defense Forces.

“This is a war, and in order to win a war you need coordination and intelligence,” Levi told Senior Housing News, referring to the fight against Covid-19.

The Covid-19 Policy Alliance was formed to improve intelligence and coordination capabilities, and within days the effort involved a team of about 80 people, including many students from across various MIT programs. Interest in their work is steadily growing, and in fact the interactive tool may be temporarily unavailable as they migrate it to a more robust platform to manage the growing demand. The tool should be up and running within a day or two, Levi said.

Drawing on publicly available information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Alliance’s map tool assigns a risk score to senior housing and care facilities based in part on past track records of infection control and safety, according to Alida Lujan, a member of the Alliance’s data analytics team and a student in Sloan’s executive MBA program.

By hovering over the map, users can see how many nursing home, assisted living and long-term care hospital beds are in a given county, and what the nursing home risk score for that county is.

Because comparable infection control data is not available for assisted living, no comparable risk score has been generated for those communities, Lujan told Senior Housing News. The Alliance scraped the web to generate information about the number of assisted living beds in a given ZIP code, grabbing data from government sources as well as senior living referral websites. The Alliance is interested in partnering with the industry to gather more data and beef up the assisted living component of the tool.

The tool still could be helpful for assisted living providers as they will want to be aware of the risk score for nursing homes in their county. If a nursing home has a Covid-19 outbreak, that would have ripple effects through the continuum of care for that locality, Lujan noted.

The intention is not to single out particular facilities for criticism or censure, Johnson stressed to Senior Housing News. Rather, it is meant to be useful in driving a more data-driven response to Covid-19.

“Our aim is to be helpful,” he said.

The team has laid out steps that they believe should be taken to mitigate the risk of serious Covid-19 outbreaks within these settings that are full of people who are particularly vulnerable to the virus. Levi laid out these steps in a presentation posted to YouTube. They are:

  • State-wide, mandated shelter in place orders for all senior living facilities to ensure no site exposure to anyone with unconfirmed or positive Covid-19 status
  • Aggressive allocation of resources to test and screen all residents, workers and vendors who enter a facility, including those who are asymptomatic for Covid-19
  • Creation of appropriate state support systems for infection control and clinical expertise to be provided via telehealth
  • Ensure critical supply of medicines and personal protective equipment (PPE)

These steps would improve on the current status quo, in which screening and testing is too sparse and haphazard, and “suggestions and guidelines” do not go far enough in ensuring that all facilities are practicing necessary infection control procedures, Levi said.

The Covid-19 Policy Alliance is working long days to improve the existing interactive map tools, create new resources, and advocate to government officials about the senior living industry’s needs, Johnson said. In fact, members of the Alliance are meeting with senior government officials on Friday to share the information that the Alliance has gathered and the group’s policy proposals.

The lack of PPE has emerged as a particular pain point for senior living providers, with Ohio Living CEO Larry Gumina writing this week of his “anger and frustration” at the shortage of these supplies. Johnson is aware of this situation, and said the Alliance is working actively on bringing in more PPE to senior housing and care communities, including by working in concert with corporate partners and resources.

“We’re working with people in the industry to help bring whatever reinforcements of material they tell us we need,” he said.

In addition to the interactive map focused on nursing homes and assisted living communities, the Covid-19 Policy Alliance has created a map that evaluates risk for individual counties across the country. From the coronavirus crisis in Italy, it is clear that locations with a sizable population of older adults are at risk of becoming Covid-19 hotspots, where the local health system can be overwhelmed by serious cases.

The interactive map from MIT assesses a county’s risk by looking at its percentage of residents older than 65 years, and the incidence of diabetes, obesity and hypertension. These comorbidities increase the likelihood that a person who catches Covid-19 will need serious medical intervention such as hospitalization.

Based on this information, the researchers believe that testing could and should be prioritized for high-risk areas, social distancing should be aggressively enforced there, and hospital capacity should be evaluated.

USA Today on Friday ran a story examining counties with large senior populations, noting the unique and serious risks posed by Covid-19 in these locales. The newspaper’s analysis found that in 11% of all U.S. counties, at least 25% of the population is 65 or older. “Texas leads the nation with 27 of those 341 elderly-heavy counties, followed by Nebraska, Michigan, Montana, Florida and North Carolina,” the article stated.

Florida’s leadership has come under criticism for not doing enough to enforce social distancing, with large spring break crowds gathered on beaches in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did ask all seniors in the Sunshine State to shelter in place in their homes.

Also in the news:

— UnitedHealth has validated self-adminstered Covid-19 tests and is rolling them out in Seattle, an early epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, with a Kirkland nursing home being a hotspot.

— 3.3 million people filed unemployment claims last week, in the biggest jump in claims in U.S. history. The senior living industry is actively trying to recruit many of these laid-off workers.

— The Covid-19 outbreak has begun to affect older adults’ perceptions of senior living, according to survey results from product review and recommendation website The Senior List. But the good news is that people who reside in senior living communities or have family in a community have a much more positive perception.

Of 715 survey respondents, only 4% of people who do not live in senior housing said that they believe these facilities provide excellent care and/or healthy environments. But that number went up to 37% among respondents in senior living, with 34% saying that senior living facilities provide good care and/or healthy environments.

The survey zeroed in on a serious outbreak of Covid-19 at a Washington state nursing home. Forty-three percent of respondents said their perspective of senior living has been negatively affected by this situation, but 14% said that they now have a more positive opinion of senior living than previously.

In reporting on these findings, The Senior List team noted: “One explanation for this is that the reports on seniors living alone who are struggling to get necessities during this time are leading people to believe seniors are better off being cared for in a facility.”

Overall, the findings suggest that Covid-19 has so far not improved people’s perception of senior living, but it also has not done extreme damage.

“While the news so far has been focused on the vulnerabilities of those in senior living, there is potential for the industry to recover lost public trust,” The Senior List report noted.

— Linked Senior has launched a campaign called #ActivitiesStrong to support resident engagement despite limitations on normal activities due to Covid-19. The company has made a tip sheet and other resources available and is making its technology available for free for 90 days.

— Seniorly, a company that has been likened to the Airbnb of senior living, has enlisted Broadway and Hollywood performers to take part in a free daily show, Curtain Up!, to be broadcast via YouTube. Among those slated to perform are Bethany Joy Lenz, known for her performance on TV’s One Tree Hill; Aaron Lazar of the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen; and Will Roland, who performed in the musical Be More Chill, as well as Dear Evan Hansen. New York City-based nonprofit Sing For Your Seniors has partnered with Seniorly on this project. Curtain Up! airs at 4pm ET on weekdays.

“I realized the other night while singing my kids to sleep that there must be so many people out there in need of comfort,” Lazar said. “I remember visiting my great grandfather in the nursing home when I was a little kid. Singing for seniors is so important, now more than ever.”

Bulletin for Wednesday, March 25, 2020:

After coming to an initial agreement in the early morning hours, Senate lawmakers continued to wrangle over a $2 trillion stimulus package on Wednesday, but ultimately passed it unanimously. As they face heightened expenses related to Covid-19, senior living providers will be able to apply for relief through a $100 billion public health and social services emergency fund and a $500 billion stabilization fund, leaders with industry groups Argentum and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) said.

“In this latest package, lawmakers set aside $100 billion in grants for providers to prevent, prepare for, and respond to Covid-19, and reimburse eligible health care providers for lost revenues directly attributed to coronavirus,” Argentum President and CEO James Balda explained in a statement. “The bill also provides for $500 billion in liquidity through loans, loan guarantees, and other investments, that would be available to eligible businesses including senior living providers.”

The stimulus package also includes tax relief measures that could aid senior living providers.

ASHA and Argentum led an advocacy effort in recent days aimed at getting $20 billion of the stimulus packaged earmarked specifically for senior living. No specific allocations for the industry were made in the final bill, but the trade associations said that they are pleased that the final bill boosted the health care fund to $100 billion and that senior living providers will be have the opportunity to receive financial support. They plan to continue to push for senior living interests in a potential fourth round of stimulus.

“We were very proud of the way our collective memberships stepped up their advocacy efforts these last two weeks,” ASHA President David Schless stated. “They called and wrote to their congressional representatives and staffs, in many cases more than once, asking for much needed government financial relief to offset the costs associated with COVID-19 preparedness and response. These resources are a good start to helping our members meet this unprecedented challenge as they and their employees continue to serve our vulnerable seniors.”

The stimulus package is expected to be quickly taken up the House of Representatives, where there is a plan to bring it to a voice vote on Friday.

Also in the news on Wednesday:

— While merger and acquisition activity remained steady in the early days of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, one large deal has now been scrapped and another has been postponed. Irvine, California-based Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) was pursuing a previously announced $150 million acquisition that has now been postponed. Seattle-based investment and development firm Columbia Pacific Advisors’ $175.4 million sale of a Canadian senior housing portfolio will not proceed due to Covid-19 uncertainty.

— Ohio Living CEO Larry Gumina issued an impassioned public call for more personal protective equipment for senior living providers, writing that he is “frustrated and angry” at the situation. Hospitals in Ohio are reportedly “flush” with PPE, while clinicians and caregivers in senior living must “get to the end of the line” and are wearing re-used masks and gowns.

“We, aging service providers, are caring for the most vulnerable members of our society, 24/7, and we are last on the prioritization of PPE,” Gumina wrote. “ … My hope is that in the days and years ahead, we’ll be able to learn from this misplaced hierarchy of value and the aging service segment of our health care delivery system will be equally prioritized.”

— Westlake Village, California-based LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) terminated its previously authorized stock repurchase program. As of March 25, 2020, LTC had purchased 615,827 shares at an average price of $29.25 per share, including commissions, for a total investment of approximately $18 million, the REIT announced.

“LTC’s Board has made the strategic decision to terminate the repurchase plan,” LTC President and CEO Wendy Simpson stated. “We believe that the course for LTC now is to further increase our liquidity and help maintain our strong and flexible balance sheet. With a rising level of uncertainty in all aspects of corporate life, we believe it is prudent to enhance our already high level of conservatism. Additionally, increased financial flexibility and liquidity will allow LTC to complete and compete for accretive transactions when this crisis passes.”

— Sabra lowered its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share for the dividend expected to be declared in May 2020.

“Preservation of capital is important in times of uncertainty,” Sabra CEO Rick Matros stated. “Retaining a greater portion of our cash flows from operations will help us better manage our leverage as we expect to face disruption in our revenue stream during the pendency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our operators are diligently and skillfully managing through the pandemic, and we are pleased with how they have been handling these unprecedented challenges.”

The reduction is expected to generate about $30 million of cash savings per quarter, which will likely be used to manage leverage and fund operations.

— Mary Sue Patchett has been named Executive Vice President – Strategic Operations at Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD). Previously her title was Executive Vice President – Community Operations. She will continue to lead the Covid-19 emergency response command center in her new role, which will also encompass the provider’s ssenior living portfolio segmentation initiative, integrated health care strategy, strategic accounts relationships, innovation efforts and sustainability initiatives. She is reporting to Cindy Kent, the company’s president of senior living.

— Chicago craft distillery Koval has turned to producing hand sanitizer, which it is donating to senior living communities and other health care providers.

Bulletin for Tuesday, March 24, 2020:

Tuesday brought some relief to publicly traded senior housing owners and operators, whose share prices were buoyed as part of a larger market rally. Investors seemed hopeful that Congress would soon move forward with a $2 trillion stimulus; news came early Wednesday morning that the Senate and White House had reached a deal on the package. Senior living associations have been pushing to get a $20 billion allocation for the industry. Meanwhile, updates came Tuesday from two of the public senior housing companies — real estate investment trusts Ventas (NYSE: VTR) and Healthpeak (NYSE: PEAK). Ventas CEO Debra Cafaro appeared on CNBC, while Healthpeak issued information on its Covid-19 exposure. Read on for details:

— Ventas (NYSE: VTR) CEO Debra Cafaro appeared on CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” on Tuesday and made a case for why investors should still consider the Chicago-based health care REIT a buy. Cafaro cited Ventas’ “very experienced” management team and their ability to weather previous downturns and economic cycles.

“We have an incredible balance sheet and a lot of strength and stability at Ventas. We’re using all the strength that we have and our great operating partners to ensure that [we all] come out of this unprecedented pandemic in the best possible position.”

— National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Chief Economist Beth Burnham Mace shared her thoughts on the pandemic and its impact on the long-term care industry. She also announced that NIC is launching a new monthly “Executive Survey” to gather timely information about move-ins and move-outs, changes in occupancy rates, staffing considerations and construction delivery pipelines.

NIC is championing initiatives to give front line workers the support they need and deserve, including:

  • Government authorities giving staff priority access to personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Immediate, no-hassle access to Covid-19 testing
  • Emergency access to day care, for workers with children

Mace also identified six areas of impact: residents and health care workers; operations; transactions and pricing; economic impacts; financial markets; and construction.

Covid-19 is the type of “unexpected shock” to the economy that Mace warned about to SHN in January, and while it is affecting the industry across the board, there are opportunities for innovation such as expanding telehealth and perhaps even opening ghost kitchens to serve residents who are isolated in their rooms.

“Collectively, let’s help provide support, solutions, encouragement and assistance for those on the frontlines in our industry and for those behind the scenes in management and decision-making roles,” Mace wrote.

— Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: PEAK) on Tuesday released a report sharing its perspectives and observations of the Covid-19 outbreak on its portfolio. So far, people in seven Healthpeak-owned SHOP properties have tested positive for Covid-19 — six of those are operated by Atria Senior Living or Sunrise Senior Living. Five residents at two communities have died, and more positive cases and deaths are expected as the crisis worsens. Protocols enacted to contain the spread of the virus include multiple daily temperature checks of residents and employees, limiting entry to essential medical workers, eliminating group activities and outings, and when necessary, isolation of residents in their suites.

The REIT’s operating partners are experiencing significant cost increases responding to the pandemic, notably in staffing and supply costs. Operators are also offering wage premiums to hourly workers to ensure staffing needs are met. And actions are being taken to address shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE).

Previously scheduled move-ins are still happening, albeit with enhanced safety protocols including 14-day quarantines. Tours of communities have declined as operators have secured buildings to only essential personnel, and virtual tours are being offered. As a result, Healthpeak expects an occupancy decline in the coming weeks due to the reduction in tours and normal move-out activity.

— Wall Street’s rollercoaster ride of late ended trading Tuesday on a high amid hopes for a government aid bill. The Dow Jones closed trading up 11.4%, or 2,113 points. That is the biggest point gain on record and the biggest percentage gain in 27 years.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite rose 9.4% and 8.1%, respectively. The S&P gain was its biggest since 2008.

The “Big 3” health care REITs stock prices responded positively to the news, as well. Welltower (NYSE: WELL) ended trading Tuesday up 4.32%, to $45.37 per share. Ventas traded nearly 12% higher and closed trading at $25.70 per share, and Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: PEAK) closed trading up 6.1%, to $21.16 per share.

Among publicly traded operators, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) stock rose nearly $41% to close Tuesday at $3.13 per share. Five Star Senior Living (NYSE: FVE) stock traded 15.6% higher, to close at $2.75 per share. National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) closed trading Tuesday 16.21% higher, or $42.80 per share.

Bulletin for Monday, March 23, 2020:

In the midst of Covid-19, taking all steps to protect the health and wellbeing of senior living residents and staff is of paramount importance — but owners and operators are also carefully watching the bottom line. Expenses are on the rise and and move-ins may slow down. The good news is that occupancy has held firm in the early going, according to newly released data. Meanwhile, owners and operators continue to take steps to maintain liquidity.

— Welltower (NYSE: WELL) has secured a $1 billion, 2-year unsecured loan. As of March 20, 2020, the Toledo, Ohio-based REIT had $338 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $1.5 billion of available borrowing capacity under its unsecured revolving credit facility. Welltower is continuing to close on previously announced dispositions and has forward sale agreements for 6.8 million shares of common stock under its ATM program.

“While we maintain unwavering confidence in our balance sheet, we believe it is prudent to take further steps to enhance our liquidity profile given current capital market conditions and the uncertain impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” CFO Tim McHugh stated. “We believe today’s announcement is a testament to our operating platform and capital allocation discipline and will enable us to continue executing on our strategy amidst a volatile macroeconomic backdrop.”

— Two confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been identified in the portfolio of New Senior (NYSE: SNR) as of March 20, the New York City-based REIT reported Monday. The company expects more cases to be identified as testing increases. Independent living giant Holiday Retirement is New Senior’s largest operating partner, managing 98 communities. New Senior shared several protocols that Holiday has implemented, including rolling out MeMD telehealth service to all residents. No material occupancy deterioration has occurred yet as a result of the coronavirus situation, although the REIT does expect some declines in leasing activity.

— Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) has drawn $300 million under its $1.25 billion revolving credit facility and is suspending its dividend reinvestment and common stock purchase plan. The board of the Hunt Valley, Maryland-based REIT authorized the repurchase of up to $200 million of Omega’s outstanding common stock over the next 12 months, funded using cash flow from operations, balance sheet cash, planned asset sales, and/or borrowings under Omega’s revolving credit facility.

“Our responsibility is to both preserve and prudently allocate capital and, with the impact of COVID-19 continuing to rapidly evolve, we are seeking to protect our liquidity while having the opportunity to judiciously capitalize on any material mispricing in our equity,” CEO Taylor Pickett stated. “While we have not seen any material change in the financial performance of our operators, by drawing down on a portion of our credit facility, we are bolstering our liquidity to weather a potential significant and prolonged impact to our business and are better positioned to creatively support our operators if necessary.”

— As the Covid-19 pandemic expanded last week, senior housing occupancy remained steady, with some providers seeing increased move-ins, according to survey data from Activated Insights, the senior care group of Great Place to Work.

Nearly 80% of operators saw no significant uptick in move-outs last week, while 21% reported increased occupancy. Some of the move-ins were pre-scheduled, but some are being motivated by the recognition that senior living communities are safer places for older adults to be, due to rigorous infection control procedures.

“The data reflect how quickly senior housing operators have adapted lessons learned in Washington state to protect our nation’s vulnerable elders and frontline staff by upholding the highest standards of care,” said Robert Kramer, Founder and Strategic Advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). “The results from this survey are especially timely since the investment community has been starved for data in this time of uncertainty.”

The survey represented 1,078 buildings and 100,899 units, and was conducted via phone on March 18-March 19.

— As federal lawmakers continued tense negotiations over a nearly $2 trillion stimulus plan, industry associations Argentum and ASHA sent a letter to Senate and House appropriators urging that the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund be increased to $100 billion, and that 20% should be reserved for senior living providers.

— The commercial real estate financing market is “on the brink of collapse,” requiring swift and sweeping action, according to Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY) Chairman and outgoing CEO Tom Barrack. He outlined the steps that he believes would ward off calamity, including $500 billion in funds to inject liquidity into the financial system, and a “time-out” to avert “rushed and widespread margin calls” and other actions that would precipitate a domino effect. As of Dec. 31, 2019, Colony’s consolidated healthcare portfolio included 154 senior housing properties.

— In an effort to alleviate isolation and loneliness among senior living residents during the Covid-19 outbreak, Argentum has launched a Facebook group called Sharing for Seniors: “The call to action for this group is to help reduce the feeling of isolation for these older adults and use this space to share positive messages of connection, inspiration, hope, and appreciation, to brighten their days. Post a photo, video, message, song, dance, or artwork (get creative!), that our network of senior living companies and communities can share with their residents and families.”

— The federal government is releasing a new nursing home survey tool, taking a stricter approach to infection control by applying lessons from the Covid-19 outbreak at a Kirkland, Washington, skilled nursing facility.

To better understand and report on Covid-19, we here at SHN want to hear how providers are responding. Please take this 2-minute survey, and you’ll have a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Bulletin for the weekend of March 21 & 22, 2020:

With senior living providers under enormous financial strain as a result of being on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic, industry associations are pushing for $20 billion to be earmarked for the sector in the nearly $2 trillion “Stimulus 3.0” package being hammered out on Capitol Hill.

After a weekend of negotiations, the Senate failed on Sunday to advance the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act through a key procedural vote. Democratic lawmakers argue that the bill — which includes $500 billion for distressed companies — is too favorable to large corporations. Negotiations were continuing Sunday night, with President Donald Trump expressing optimism that an agreement could be reached.

Argentum and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) over the weekend urged members to reach out to legislators to explain why the $20 billion in financial support is critical for the senior living industry and the nation as a whole.

“While the senior living industry continues to work diligently on the front lines of the pandemic, the financial stress cannot be overstated,” ASHA President David Schless said in a statement provided to Senior Housing News. “It is imperative that seniors housing communities across the nation receive immediate financial support that will allow them to continue to serve and protect the residents and staff. While Congress is looking to bail out cruise lines and airlines, they need to prioritize the seniors who are disproportionately impacted by the virus and the frontline staff and caregivers who are working diligently to keep our seniors from this terrible virus.”

Argentum President and CEO James Balda emphasized the same points and noted that tax incentives are being requested in addition to the billions in relief.

“As an industry, we are facing a financial strain that left unaided, will significantly impact the nation’s ability to respond to the Covid-19 crisis and undermine the ability to provide long-term care services and supports to the nation’s seniors for years to come,” he said in a statement to SHN. “We are seeking $20 billion in relief and asking Congress to include ALL senior living communities and employees in their forthcoming stimulus bill. Specifically, we are asking for sufficient financial resources to ensure communities can continue to operate, as well as tax incentives to engage in activities related to Covid-19 prevention and mitigation.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Sunday indicated that the House of Representatives would create its own, separate stimulus package. Argentum plans to push for the $20 billion in senior living aid to be included in any House bill, Argentum COO Maribeth Bersani said in an email to SHN.

Already, senior living providers are running out of supplies, incurring additional labor-related costs, and spending money related to expanded infection control, the associations noted in a March 19 letter to Congressional leaders and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Stock futures fell on the news that the bill had not advanced through the Senate vote Sunday night, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropping 800 points.

Publicly traded senior living operators and owners have seen their market capitalization plummet during recent stock market shocks related to Covid-19. For example, shares in Brentwood, Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living (NSYE: BKD) have fallen from $8.39 on Feb. 19 to $1.88 as trading ended last Friday.

CDC’s Covid-19 Guidance for Senior Living Communities

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has issued interim guidance on how retirement communities and independent living communities can prevent the spread of Covid-19. The guidance can be found on a CDC website last reviewed March 20, and includes many steps that senior living communities across the United States are already taking, including canceling all non-essential group activities and public events; cleaning/disinfecting all common areas and shared facilities; and maintaining social distancing.

Other recommendations include establishing a “buddy system” for residents, to ensure regular check-ins and back-up caregiving in the event a primary caretaker becomes ill.

Should Covid-19 be diagnosed in a senior living setting, an operator should coordinate with local health officials; communicate with residents, workers, volunteers and visitors; as residents to self-monitor for 14 days; and clean and disinfect thoroughly.

Click here to access the general CDC guidance for retirement communities, and click here to access the interim guidance on preventing the spread of Covid-19 in these settings.

Click here to access separate guidance for long-term care facilities and nursing homes. Click here to access a preparedness checklist for long-term care facilities and nursing homes; the CDC notes that lower-acuity senior living settings may want to adjust this checklist to meet their own “needs and circumstances.”

Meanwhile, a new CDC report shows the vast majority of U.S. Covid-19 deaths between February 12 and March 16 were among people 65 years of age or older. In fact, 8 out of every 10 Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. during that period belonged to that age cohort.

Atlas Senior Living To Begin Testing in Communities

Atlas Senior Living might be the first senior living provider in the U.S. to offer its own Covid-19 testing to residents.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company has partnered with Assurance Scientific Laboratories to provide Covid-19 test kits to all of its 24 retirement communities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. The test kits are slated to be available starting during the week of March 23.

Tech Providers Offering Free Products, Services

As the Covid-19 crisis deepens across the country and within senior living, technology companies are making certain products and services available free of charge. The number of tech companies doing so is growing quickly, but a partial list includes:

— Digital health solutions firm VitalTec, which is offering free telehealth access for patients and physicians on its namesake platform through a partnership with Concord Health Partners. The move is aimed at accomplishing social distancing, which the CDC and other authorities say will be vitally important in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

— Status Solutions is making the web version of its CATIE communications solution free of charge for senior living communities.

— Eversound is launching new live-streamed, interactive programming to senior living communities, as a way to increase resident engagement through virtual connections with cultural institutions and subject-matter experts. The company is offering free access to more than 100 recordings of past interactive events, through April 30.

— CareAcademy is offering a free Covid-19 certification class, covering best practices for direct care workers.

— Relias is offering free access to training courses and “how-to” materials related to Covid-19.

— GreatCall is offering 24/7 access to registered nurses via its Urgent Care service free of charge to customers during the outbreak.

Here’s what else you need for know for March 22, 2020:

  • As senior living communities ban non-essential visitors and change operational procedures, that could be creating care gaps for residents, STAT reported. ““I would bet there are residents who are going without getting their teeth brushed, because the staff is trying to implement measures to save their lives,” Lisa Sweet, chief clinical officer of the National Association of Health Care Assistants, told the publication.
  • Not all Covid-19 news is dire; examples abound of people going above and beyond in the midst of the pandemic. Family members of residents are writing messages in brightly colored chalk on the sidewalk outside the Heritage at Sagewood in Grand Island, Nebraska. And Gayle King, a 76-year-old resident at Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber, is working hard to make sure that other residents continue to have some socialization.

Bulletin for Thursday, March 19, 2020:

Each day brings news of more senior living residents and staff members diagnosed with Covid-19. Some of the nation’s largest providers, including Atria Senior Living and Five Star Senior Living, as well as major regional players such as Benchmark, are now responding to these situations. Meanwhile, Cindy Baier — CEO of Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), the nation’s largest provider — appeared in a video message to provide an update on the company’s latest policies. The company is restricting all visitors to buildings, except in end-of-life situations or pursuant to guidance of public health officials.

— Among the latest reports of new Covid-19 cases in senior living: five residents of Atria Burlingame in California; a resident of The Kensington in Falls Church, Virginia; five residents of Camellia at Deerwood in Jacksonville, Florida; a staff member at Church Creek, a community located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, operated by Five Star Senior Living; six people at Laurel Manor Care Center, operated by Volunteers of America, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A resident of Bonaventure of Tri-Cities in Richland, Washington, who died last Saturday was subsequently diagnosed as having had Covid-19. A man who resided at Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossings also passed away after being hospitalized and diagnosed with Covid-19.

The following statement from Atria CEO John Moore was provided to Senior Housing News on Thursday:

“As you can imagine, we’re very busy. People are stepping up and doing great things. I couldn’t be more proud of how our team is facing these challenges.

There is and will be so much more to say about how we are learning to both keep our residents safe and also find ways to allow our residents to have community, engagement and continued connection to family and friends in a mostly quarantined environment.”

— “In light of the changing guidelines, Brookdale is tightening up our current policies and protocols. At this time, we are restricting all visitors and non-essential health care personnel to our communities. There is an exception for certain compassionate care situations, such as the end of life, or pursuant to the guidance of public health officials,” Brookdale CEO Cindy Baier said in an updated video message posted Thursday.

— Only 33 people in Florida retirement haven The Villages have been tested for Covid-19, and the state’s large population of seniors could be at particular risk, The New York Times reported.

— Family members of residents understand the need for visitor restrictions at senior living communities, but they are struggling with emotional fallout as a result of being separated from loved ones during the pandemic, according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.

— Cleveland, Tennessee-based Legacy Senior Living canceled its leadership retreat and funneled the funds into Covid-19 response at the community level. The company has installed “immunity boost” stations at all of its 14 communities, featuring healthy food and vitamin-infused hydration. “We believe these proactive wellness efforts can give residents a positive outlook, a sense of calm and perhaps even a stronger immune system,” said Bryan Cook, co-founder and president of Legacy Senior Living.

Bulletin for Wednesday, March 18, 2020:

  • “Limitations in effective infection control and prevention and staff members working in multiple facilities contributed to intra- and interfacility spread.” Read the whole CDC report on how Covid-19 spread through long-term care settings in Washington.
  • National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) has updated its website to segment its portfolio by coronavirus testing and diagnosis status. So far, no active cases have been reported in communities owned by the Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based REIT.
  • The New York Times reports on social isolation among seniors as a result of Covid-19.
  • Older adults living at home face a “host of challenges,” Kaiser Health News reported.
  • “Our experienced staff remains onsite and has implemented additional quarantine protocols,” Atria Senior Living stated, as the large Louisville, Kentucky-based provider responded to a Covid-19 outbreak at a Fort Lauderdale community.

Bulletin for Tuesday, March 17, 2020:

  • Ventas drew $2.75B from revolving line of credit, withdrew 2020 guidance.
  • Welltower announced two Covid-19 diagnoses in its senior housing portfolio; CEO Tom DeRosa touted senior living as a key setting for keeping coronavirus patients out of hospitals to maintain bed availability.
  • Brookdale has drawn on its full revolving line of credit, stopped its share repurchasing program and halted some capex projects as expenses have grown due to Covid-19.
  • The first cases of coronavirus in senior living in the state of Georgia were reported, involving three residents and an employee of a Phoenix Senior Living building.
  • CMS updated guidance for PACE programs.

Bulletin for Monday, March 16, 2020:

  • Two more senior living communities in Kirkland, Washington, have reported cases of Covid-19. A Life Care Centers community here was hit in the early days of the U.S. outbreak and has lost more than two-dozen residents to the virus.
  • The Dow plummeted nearly 3,000 points on Monday after plunging late last week. Senior housing related stocks continued to be affected, with the “Big 3” REITs all down more than 20% and Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) trading down nearly 36% at the close.
  • Irvine, California-based Healthpeak (NYSE: PEAK) — one of the Big 3 REITs — issued a Covid-19 update. The company expects a deterioration in performance relative to expectations at least for the next few months.
  • Industry associations Argentum and ASHA urged Congress to exempt senior living providers from certain provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that they argued would “decimate” providers’ workforces.
  • Personal care aides are among the workers most at-risk from Covid-19, according to a New York Times analysis.
  • Covid-19 infections continue to spread among health care professionals generally, with workers in five states testing positive over the weekend.
  • Testing for an experimental coronavirus vaccine got underway Monday, with the first volunteer receiving the shot in Seattle.

The post Covid-19 News Bulletin: Atria CEO Says Company ‘Reacting Smartly’ to Cases; Omega Sees Significant Increase in PPE Costs appeared first on Senior Housing News.

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