Senior Living News Wire

Looking to update your Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan? Be sure to use the most recent version of HUD Form 935-2a now dated December 2011.

In the relative absence of new construction, the senior housing industry is left to work with what’s already around, but in some cases, those existing facilities might not be performing well. That’s where turnarounds come into play, and while there’s already opportunity in this field, the potential is likely to grow.

Senior housing construction is at the “slowest pace in the history of the industry,” according to Stephanie Harris, president and CEO of Turnaround Solutions, and it’s affording ample “rescue” opportunities.

Because such few new facilities are entering the market, now is the ideal time to take advantage of capacity opportunities by erasing vacancy, Harris says.

At one point, occupancy levels rose to as much as 92%, but they currently are hovering at about 88%. While many facilities are performing well, the overall occupancy rate has been dragged down by struggling facilities, where rates have dipped into the 50% or 60% range, she says. That’s the kind of opportunity her company seeks out to “fix.”

Currently, the places in need of fixing are in dire straights, because operators of the ones that are faring slightly better can usually work something out with banks to help get their facilities on an upward track.

For those who can’t, though, there are companies like Harris’s, who says there are three basic roles for companies that deal with turnaround situations: function as a consultant to the owner/operator; buy the property and become the operator; or work in a joint venture and partner with the operator.

“There’s a lot of relevance to this niche of fixing these “hairier” buildings to help address the capacity,” said Harris.

A little less than 10% of projects in the metro areas that Harris primarily operates in are considered “distressed,” but that can rise as high as 15% in markets that are over-saturated, and it’s usually the smaller operators, the “mom-and-pop” facilities, that her company works with.

When people think of turning around a struggling facility, they often envision launching a brand new marketing campaign, Harris says, but most of the time, that’s not what’s necessary. Instead, it’s usually enough to work with what’s already there.

“What blows most peoples’ minds is that in our company, we don’t spend time on outreach marketing,” she says. “We will go into a building that’s distressed, and just work the leads that have been sitting in their database for the past couple years.”

By focusing on underworked or poorly managed leads, it’s possible to get residents that may have been on the fence, but just needed that extra effort, she says.

The most important part of effecting a turnaround is getting the right leadership and the right staff dynamic, she says.

“If the culture isn’t right, the building will never sell. Sales and money solve a lot of problems, but when you get the teams in motion, and every different department head understands their role in supporting, it has a part in the process of sales. That’s the most critical formula to success.”

And while opportunities can already be easily found, the turnaround niche is bound to grow once senior housing construction picks up again, says Harris.

“It will be a fresh, new product offering when these new construction projects open in a year or two,” she says. “It’s only going to exacerbate the problems within this group that is in distress.”

She said she wouldn’t be shocked if the number of distressed properties nearly doubles as it’s facing competition from home care along with other alternatives within the market.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The nursing home industry is working to prevent further Medicare reimbursement reductions, this time in the form of cuts to bad debt payments, by proposing an alternative: a plan to reduce hospital readmissions from skilled nursing facilities.

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) will pitch its plan to a House-Senate conference committee to show that it’s a “viable alternative to just cutting bad debt,” says Greg Crist, vice president of public affairs at AHCA.

Back in December, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that included reducing Medicare bad debt reimbursements for skilled nursing centers to just 55%, down from 70%; this would result in a $2-3 billion cut in Medicare payments in the 10-year budget window.

“Our argument is, instead of just a straight cut [for bad debt reimbursements], how about considering a proposal that has a lot of merit to it, and generates savings in a meaningful way?” Crist asked.

He said the trade association is “pushing hard” to try to reduce readmissions from skilled nursing centers, in lieu of any cuts on the Medicare side.

Their proposal includes developing guidelines on what would constitute an appropriate readmission rate, adjusted for risk and the makeup of the patient mix in terms of acuity and condition. Nursing facilities would be expected to meet these guidelines, and AHCA would expect to see rehospitalizations drop.

“If a facility failed to meet those restrictions and mandates, it would forgo its market basket update (i.e., cost-of-living adjustment),” Crist explained. That could amount to a couple hundred million dollars, he continued, which would go into a funding/savings pool.

Facilities that met the thresholds in a “stellar” way, on the other hand, would have access to that savings pool, which would be split with the Department of Health and Human Services.

And according to calculations, this proposal could save $2 billion in the next ten years, says Crist, “which happens to be what the cut for bad debt would cost.”

Going into the conference committee, the healthcare association is hopeful.

“We had some initial positive feedback. We heard that the staffs of the [House Committee on Ways & Means] were calling CMS to verify, ‘Does this make sense from a policy perspective?’ It’s encouraging,” said Crist.

However, it’s hard to say what will happen, as the proposal is a new measure and hasn’t yet been introduced as a bill.

“We’re touching the right bases, it’s just a question of a well-argued case and timing,” he said.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Christian Care Communities Building $30 Million Senior Facility in Kentucky

Christian Care Communities, based in Louisville, Ky., and Lexington real estate developer The Joseph Group recently broke ground on Ashgrove Woods, a $30 million senior living community in Nicholasville, Ky.  Studio A Architecture is the architect for the development, which will include adult day care, memory care, rehabilitation services, and independent living homes. The Joseph Group will be the owner and operator of the facility.

CRL Breaks Ground on 88-Bed Senior Living Community in Illinois

CRL Senior Living Communities broke ground recently on Arbor Ridge Manor, a new Alzheimer’s/memory care and assisted living residence located in Highland Park, Ill. The community will offer 64 large private and semi-private suites with a total of 88 beds, and is slated to open in spring 2012. Arbor Ridge Manor will be a 60,000 square foot building with amenities that will include outdoor walking paths, sensory gardens, an enclosed landscaped courtyard, and technology and social media tools such as Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and Nintendo Wii.

New Hampshire CCRC Begins $30 Million Expansion Construction

Expansion construction has begun for The Village at RiverMead, a continuing care retirement community located in Peterborough, N.H. JSA Inc of Portsmouth, N.H. is the designer of the expansion, a new neighborhood that will be built on 35 wooded acres across from the original RiverMead campus. The architecture at The Village features stone, wood, and glass in contemporary forms, and the new construction will include 10 independent living cottages, 30 independent living apartments, 20 assisted living apartments organized into two households, and underground parking for 30 cars. The $30 million project is expected to be completed in 15 months.

RiverMead’s original CCRC campus consists of 114 independent living units, 53 assisted living units, 27 skilled nursing beds, a wellness center, and more than 35,000 square feet of community and amenity space.

Vermont Senior Community to Undergo $8 Million Expansion and Renovation Project

The Congress Companies recently announced that they will prove construction management for an $8 million addition and renovation project for Cedar Hill Assisted Living and Memory Care, located in Windsor, Vt., which offers a continuum of care ranging from independent and assisted living to skilled nursing, rehabilitative, and Alzheimer’s care. The expansion will add 42,200 square feet to The Village at Cedar Hill, including 36 assisted living units, 43 beds, administration offices, an activity and fitness area, a living room, dining room, and commercial kitchen. Renovation projects include relocating a laundry room and converting a lounge area into a studio apartment unit.

HUD lender Red Capital Group and Mackenzie Architects will work with the Congress Companies on the project.

$16 Million Senior Housing Development Approved in Ohio

Plans for The Trails of Hudson, a 55+ residential development that will be located in Hudson, Ohio, recently got approval from the town’s planning commission. It will be a 172-unit, $16 million project that will be owned and operated by Redwood Management Co. The project’s plans call for two to five residential units per building in a 43-building development on 34 acres. Construction will take place in two phases, with the first phase to include 82 apartment units. Redwood hopes to break ground in May.

Some nursing homes have been trending away from an institutional style of care to a more homelike atmosphere, and residents at one such Illinois residence are voicing their approval, reports The State Journal-Register.

Concordia officials say the center’s “household model,” consisting of 16-resident “neighborhoods” arranged in self-contained pods, is the first of its kind in Springfield and one of only a handful of examples statewide.

The model is part of the “Pioneer Movement” that has taken hold in the nursing home industry over the past five to 10 years and is focused on concepts called “person-centered care” and “culture change.”

The extend of innovations offered at Concordia—such as staff members who remain with each household and a higher staff-to-resident ratio—are more expensive to provide and one reason the 64-bed facility doesn’t plan to serve many residents on Medicaid.

The idea of getting away from institutional practices in nursing may not catch on in Illinois because of the possibility of Medicaid payment rates being reduced even more, the Register reports. However, this concept of a household model is in growing demand.

Read the full article here.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

AdCare Property Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of AdCare Health Systems, Inc., agreed on Jan. 17 to acquire a 141-bed skilled nursing facility located in Lonoke, Ark. for an aggregate purchase price of $6,486,000, subject to the terms and conditions of the ConvaCare purchase agreement.

The purchase is expected to close on March 1, 2012, although AdCare may extend the closing until March 31, as it is subject to customary closing conditions, indemnification provisions and termination provisions.

The seller is Gyman Properties, LLC.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Last year saw $227.4 billion worth of healthcare merger, acquisition, and takeover activity, representing an 11% increase from the $205.6 billion spend in 2010, according to Irving Levin Associates, Inc.

In terms of financing dollars, 2011 was the fourth-largest year of the past decade, although the actual number of deals announced in the year decreased 3% from 2010, going from 1,007 transactions across 13 sectors of the healthcare industry to 980.

However, this number is expected to rise as more information is released and other deals are brought to light through annual 10-K filings, says Irving Levin.

Of the 13 healthcare sectors, rehabilitation, laboratories/MRI/dialysis, managed care, medical devices, and long-term care saw the most notable dollar volume growth from 2010 to 2011.

Managed care and long-term care also saw positive growth trends in deal volume, led only by physician medical groups, behavioral health.

Source: Irving Levin Associates, Inc.

“We predict that the dynamics of the 2011 market will forge ahead into 2012,” said Sanford B. Steever, Ph.D., editor of The Health Care M&A Report, in a statement. “In particular, we expect to see strong deal making in the four technology sectors as well as in facility-based service sectors, such as Hospitals and Long-Term Care. Despite the rhetoric of repeal, hospitals and other providers will keep pursuing mergers and acquisitions to assemble the component parts for building accountable care organizations.”

However, external factors such as 2012 being an election year may influence the pace of the M&A market, according to Irving Levin Associates’ managing editor Stephen Monroe.

“Deals in provider sectors dependent on government payments will be particularly vulnerable as changes to reimbursement protocols, real or threatened, are bandied about,” he said in a statement. He added that Europe’s debt and economic uncertainty means American companies will lead the healthcare M&A market.

Ultimately, merger and acquisition activity in the healthcare industry is “expected to remain robust for 2012.”

View a list of fourth-quarter acquisitions covered by Senior Housing News, or go here to check out both recently covered acquisitions as well as those dating back to the beginning of 2011.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Group therapy was virtually extinct in the first quarter of 2012 as skilled nursing providers “significantly” changed the mode of patient therapy from group to individual after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revised the RUG reimbursement system, according to a CMS report.

Most Medicare patients are in skilled nursing for short-term stays, and between 2010 and 2011, approximately 92% of these patients were classified into a rehab category, according to a Department of Health and Human Services CMS final rule on the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS).

SNFs received about 17% of their total income from Medicare reimbursements in 2005, according to a Georgetown University survey on national long-term care financing, and they get the highest reimbursement rates for residents who receive rehabilitation services.

Providers can bill Medicare for therapy that was given in a group setting (one therapist working with residents who are all doing the same “task”), concurrent (one therapist working with multiple residents who are doing different “tasks”), and individual (one therapist working with one individual).

In previous years, providers could bill Medicare for each individual in a group therapy setting, but that was changed after government reports showed this “triggered a significant increase in overall payment levels” under that RUG system that resulted in “substantial overpayments to SNFs,” according to the August 2011 final PPS rule.

When CMS announced RUG-IV, providers were in for an 11.1% reduction in reimbursements, and according to a new government report, 2012 data for the first quarter indicates that group therapy is virtually nonexistent, with facilities almost exclusively providing individual therapy (99%), with the remaining 1% in concurrent therapy. This is a dramatic shift from 2006-2007, when about one quarter of patients were in concurrent therapy, according to CMS.

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Other changes for 2012 (so far) is that the overall patient mix (of those in categories such as rehabilitation, extensive services, special care, etc.) isn’t significantly different from what was observed in 2011, with “rehabilitation plus extensive services” seeing the biggest change, from 2.38% to 1.78% in 2012, while rehabilitation alone increased 40 basis points to 88.9%.

Click here to see the fiscal year 2012 SNF PPS Monitoring Activities from CMS.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Hugo Suite Living, located in Hugo, Minn., announced on Jan. 29 that it is converting all of its units to memory care-only, due to the “growing amount of seniors [that] are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.”

“We are very happy with the results we have seen at Hugo Suite Living since we have converted to all memory care,” said Tawnee Pietrzak, executive director of Hugo Suite Living, in a statement. “We are one of the lucky providers to already have a building small enough in size and designed properly to care for individuals suffering from a memory impairment.”

Many of the existing Suite Living communities have already been designed with memory care in mind, with design functions and staff training that help providers deliver quality care. The company operates five assisted living and memory care communities located in Hugo, Blaine, North Branch, Champlin, and Mapelwood, Minn.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

There’s a lot of buzz around the concept of managed and accountable care thanks to the Affordable Care Act’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) movement, but it’s not a new idea, and it hasn’t exactly worked in the past, according to a Wall Street Journal roundtable discussion between three health-care policy experts.

Dr. Donald Berwick, who just recently stepped down as administrator of the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), responded to negative outlooks on ACOs from two other WSJ panelists: another previous CMS administrator, Tom Scully, and Jeff Goldsmith, president of health-care consulting firm Health Futures, Inc.

Berwick defended the movement’s opportunity for success for both healthcare providers and patients.

“The formula for ACO success is clear: keep quality high, save money by improving—not by restricting—care, and remain attractive to beneficiaries, who could go anywhere for care,” he said in the discussion. “That’s an edgy and promising design.”

Goldsmith, on the other hand, believes ACOs look like a “terrible business deal for providers” and that it’s “paternalistic” for patients, calling it a “we’ll decide what you need” kind of model.

“In order to get any shared savings, they will have to spend millions on consulting, systems, care managers, and IT staff, give up a dollar in immediately reduced income, and maybe, if they check all the boxes right, get 50 or 60 cents back in 18 months,” he said.

Berwick had a chance to counter Goldsmith’s arguments, and Scully also weighed in, saying that the “biggest flaw with ACOs is that are driving more power to hospitals” rather than doctors, which he said is “very scary” even though he is a self-proclaimed “hospital guy.”

Click here to read excerpts of the discussion.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

As assisted living regulations evolve and tighten, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements fluctuate, and healthcare reform begins to take effect, many states are facing their own challenges as they continue to develop, operate, and implement new rules. Here is a collection of long-term care related stories from across the nation.

From the Florida Sun Sentinel: 1 in 3 Florida Retirees Who Receive Social Security Survive Solely on Government Checks

“A third of Florida’s senior Social Security recipients survive on only their monthly government checks, according to an analysis by AARP,” the Sun Sentinel reports. Read more…

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Advocates Urge Simpler State Delivery of Senior Services

“Pennsylvania should overhaul its archaic method of providing services to older residents so it can meet the needs of a graying population,” LeadingAge PA urges, as reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Responsibility for senior care in Pennsylvania is spread across seven agencies or areas, including the departments of Public Welfare, Transportation and Aging; the Tobacco Settlement Fund; the Office of Long-Term Living; the lottery; and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.” Read more…

From Cincinnati.com: Westwood Nursing Home No Longer on Federal Watch List

“Conditions at a nursing home in Westwood [Ohio] have improved enough that federal officials last week removed it from the list of the worst homes nationally for providing poor or substandard quality of care,” reports Cincinnati.com. “Harrison Pavilion had been on the list for 14 months, putting it under pressure to shape up or potentially be forced out of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.” Read more…

From the Cleveland Daily Banner: Nursing Home’s Drop in Residents to Impact Budget

“The board of directors for the Bradley County Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is moderately concerned by a drop in the facility’s census,” reports the Cleveland Daily Banner. “The county-owned nursing home is down to 183 residents, with this year’s budget based on 195 residents. This relates to some negative numbers in revenue and finance, but staff members anticipate no difficulty in weathering the mild storm.” Read more…

**UPDATE** From the Los Angeles Times: Motion Picture Fund Nursing Home to Admit New Residents

Three years after a controversial decision to close Hollywood’s best known nursing home, the Motion Picture & Television Fund has reversed course and said it would immediately begin admitting new residents to the Woodland Hills facility.” Read more… (Prior coverage here.)

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Senior Housing News recently got the chance to speak with John Cobb, the senior vice president and chief investment officer of Chicago-based Ventas Healthcare REIT (NYSE:VTR). Although he’s only been with Ventas for about a year and a half, Cobb has a longstanding relationship with Ventas president Ray Lewis, with whom he’s worked for about six or seven years. His previous roles include president and CEO of Senior Lifestyle Corporation and a 10-year stint with GE Healthcare Financial Services, where he eventually became the senior managing director. A Florida native, Cobb received a B.A. in finance from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University, and has spent the past 15 years in Chicago, Ill.

During this exclusive interview with SHN, the Ventas CIO spoke of the REIT’s goal to keep targeting a private-pay audience, affirmed its primary focus on the Seniors Housing asset class, and picked the Superbowl champion—sort of.

Senior Housing News: It seems fair to say that 2011 was the year of the REITs for seniors housing in general. Do you anticipate the same for 2012?

John Cobb: Being a large S&P 500 REIT, we think it’s going to be a good year. It’s hard to predict what the deal flow is. We have a good pipeline, and there’s a fair amount of activity. I think it will be a good year.

SHN: What kinds of deals are you angling for?

JC: One of the things I like about Ventas—we’re a broad, diverse company. We’re highly focused on private pay assets, and we’re constantly looking for transactions, both big and small.

We’ve closed on small deals that are less than $10 million, and we’ve done deals in the billion dollar range. The exciting thing about being here is that we can look at a lot of different transactions. We do have a kind of focus on private pay; we’re looking for that.

[As far as deal size] we’ve looked at small, medium, and large deals.

[RIDEA vs. triple net lease] We’ve looked at both. It depends on our clients. We’re trying to meet the customer’s needs on what they’re looking for. We have the ability to do both, and we’re kind of the leading experience in doing both.

SHN: Any plans for that $2 billion revolving line of credit from last October?

JC: What the line of credit does, is it gives us capacity. It allows us to do acquisitions if we want. We’ve built in great flexibility of our company to find great transactions; if we find them, we have the capacity to do them.

SHN: I’m noticing this trend that the growing senior population is not prepared for retirement and their healthcare costs. How is Ventas planning on adjusting its investments, with this in mind?

JC: For us, what we focus on, is finding the best operators. Ever operator has taken what we’ve said and focused their portfolio for that. Different operators are using different techniques to help out those seniors, and so forth. We’re trying to find the best tenants for our portfolios, and we’ve done that. [The portfolio is] strong with Sunrise and Brookdale; senior housing is much less expensive than hospital costs.

We want to align ourselves with the best, and it’s their focus to do that [adjust]; we’re more just the landlord in the situation.

SHN: In the Q3 earnings conference call, Ray Lewis stated the 70% of Ventas’s NOI is derived from private pay.  Do you feel that this number is not only sustainable but able to increase?

JC: It’s been a strong focus of our company over the last ten years of being here. We’ve gone from– in 2001, almost 100% government reimbursed, and now we’re 70% private pay. I think we will keep moving toward that. We’re at a good balance, and we hope to continue.People like our strategy and are behind us.

SHN: Ventas has 196 Seniors Housing Properties that make up 25% of its NOI.  Why does the seniors housing segment of the portfolio remain attractive to Ventas in the near-term and long-term?

JC: That 196 is referencing our Atria and Sunrise portfolios. We like those because they are the best assets in the best markets with top-tier operators. We believe that those properties will have above-average growth rates. Those portfolios have performed well in the downturn, and they will perform well in the upturn. We like the [seniors housing] market.

SHN: Out of all the asset classes under the Ventas umbrella (MOBs, Seniors Housing, Nursing Homes, etc.), which class do you think represents the area with the most potential for “needle moving” acquisitions?

JC: We just announced a large medical office building purchase we did right around Christmas time—hopefully that will close sometime in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. I think we’re very focused on private pay seniors housing… It’s [currently] our biggest focus.

SHN: In a broadview, what changes do you see (if any) to the capital markets for seniors housing and REITs during the next 2 years?

JC: That’s a pretty tough question. The market’s constantly changing. I’m not sure I could predict what’s going to happen with the capital markets, other than what I can say today: we have good access today. Industry fundamentals are doing great. Our company is strong, and we have a diverse portfolio.

SHN: Do you sense that overall borrowing costs will rise much during the next 18-24 months or will they stay relatively flat?

JC: I don’t know—they’re relatively stable today, but they have the ability to change.

SHN: Chicago Cubs or White Sox?

JC: Cubs!

SHN: Who will be the Superbowl XLII champion?

JC: It’d be nice to see the Giants win, but New England’s pretty darn good. 

Senior housing assets that are packaged as a portfolio sell for more than if they were sold on a stand-alone basis, according to a recent survey conducted by Integra Realty Resources.

The commercial real estate consulting and valuation firm gathered results from 12 brokers and buyers who responded to a question regarding the presence and extent of a portfolio premium for a portfolio consisting of six “Class A” independent/assisted living assets each worth about $15 million.

Source: Integra Realty Resources

A majority 83% responded that a premium did indeed exist, of about 5%, while 17% said the premium was more than 5%.

It’s important to note that the larger and more homogenous the portfolio (meaning properties in a similar asset class), the larger the premium could be, Integra told SHN. However, “for a smaller portfolio, or one with assets exhibiting a mix of care types and quality, no premium may exist.”

These signs point to sellers being able to command a higher price for aggregated properties, the firm continued.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The Department of Health and Human Services recently drafted a plan to address the nation’s growing Alzheimer’s problem, but its framework fails to fully acknowledge the role of assisted living in caring for those with the disease, the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) recently pointed out.

In response, ALFA is campaigning that assisted living’s role be mentioned and included more fully in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act’s goals and strategies. The HHS is accepting comments on its Draft Framework for the plan through Feb. 8, 2012, and the assisted living group has submitted a comment letter with some suggestions and recommendations.

Among the suggestions is adding licensed assisted living communities to the list of possible care settings to which individuals may be transferred after hospitals, along with including or mentioning assisted living in other areas of the framework.

“We were shocked that assisted living was not included as a setting [for] serving individuals with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Maribeth Bersani, senior vice president of public policy at ALFA. “We are a provider. We have companies that specialize in dementia-only care, and others who provide it with assisted living. We’re the leading consumer choice for the elderly, so it was just startling to us.”

A significant portion (42%) of assisted living residents have Alzheimer’s, according to the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities conducted by the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, and ALFA says it expects this trend to continue as “many consumers prefer the state of the art programming that has been developed for memory impaired residents in assisted living.”

“The omission of assisted living is completely unacceptable,” ALFA said in a statement, urging others to also submit comment to correct the omission before the national plan is finalized.

“We hope to rectify that [omission], though,” Bersani told SHN, adding that the organization recognizes that this has been a draft, and not the final framework. “We have confidence that they will correct this.”

View ALFA’s comment letter here.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Chelsea Senior Living, LLC, an assisted and independent living community operator with communities located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, recently expanded its Northeastern presence with a New Jersey acquisition.

The operator acquired senior residence Van Dyk at Bald Eagle Commons for an undisclosed sum, and has since renamed the community the Chelsea at Bald Eagle.

“Van Dyk has successfully operated this wonderful facility for many years,” said Roger Bernier, president and chief operating officer of Chelsea Senior Living, in a statement. “We’re fortunate to be able to assume operations of such a well run community in this very scenic locale.”

Kevin Seidel is now the community’s executive director, after filling this role at the Chelsea residence in Montville.

Written by Alyssa Gerace