Senior Living News Wire

The congressional August recess has effectively begun, but before departing for home or other recess travels, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act (H.R. 8). This measure would extend all the tax cuts of 2001 – 2003 through the end of 2013. And, while LeadingAge members meet with legislators in home offices, we will continue to work the congressional staff remaining in town to urge that the still-to-be-written continuing resolution for 2013 include the House-passed funding level for Section 202 housing, including the $50 million for new construction. We all have our recess work cut out for us.

The economic recession forced many to delay or revise their retirement plans, but the outlook for the baby boomer generation isn’t necessarily the doomsday scenario it’s been made out to be, according to the results of a PulteGroup Home Index survey conducted by national homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM).

After surveying 500 people aged 55 and older who had not yet retired, PulteGroup found that 61% plan to retire within the next 10 years, while only 17% said they don’t intend on ever retiring. 

While 42% said they expect they’ll retire at an older age than originally anticipated, nearly half (46%) believe they’re financially prepared to retire in the same time period they had originally planned on.

“After a couple years of being challenged about the future and their finances, boomers are taking control, they’re taking charge, and they’re redefining the direction of their next phase of life,” says Deborah Meyer, senior vice president of PulteGroup. 

A few years ago, she says, there were a lot of warning signals regarding the “dire straights” of retirees. But despite the financial challenges that they’ve faced, many aren’t delaying retirement and instead are redefining it. 

“We’re seeing about 50% of our residents still working either part-time or full-time,” says Meyer. It’s been an upward trend in the past few years, she says, and that percentage could ascend higher. 

“People are working longer, and they’re doing a lot more activities,” she says, noting that the gyms and health rooms in PulteGroup’s Del Webb-branded, 55+ active adult communities are “always full.” Nearly three-quarters of Del Webb residents report exercising regularly, and most boomers indicate they feel younger than their current age, according to PulteGroup.

In response, Del Webb communities have made subtle changes to accommodate residents who are still in the workforce, but want to participate in free-time activities. They’ve had to change some of the community or activity meeting times to coordinate with work schedules. A decade ago, most meetings or activities were scheduled during the day, says Meyer, but with about half of residents working, they’ve been pushed back to evening. 

Another “significant” shift is where boomers plan to move in retirement, and it’s related to their working trends.

Two years ago, says Meyer, about 20% of survey respondents said they planned to stay close to their current home once they retired. That percentage more than tripled to 62% in the most recent survey.

PulteGroup has been opening communities recently near commercial areas, including one near Houston, Tex. and in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.

“We’re staying ahead of what they’re looking for in terms of wanting to be able to have a fuller, more engaged life with activities but still be by family or a job network,” says Meyer. “Retirement is looking different, and [boomers] are redefining it.” 

While Del Webb communities originated from Arizona, the development group is seeing the Southwest and North Carolina areas become more desirable, Meyer notes. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

In a set of recommendations published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, authors of a new report urge the federal government to accelerate the adoption of fee-for-service alternatives such as bundled payment programs.

Headed into the second half of 2012, Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. (NYSE:SBRA) is planning to turn its attentions to the senior housing market, said its chairman and CEO Rick Matros during REITWeek 2012: NAREIT’s Investor Forum.

Sabra’s portfolio is currently dominated by skilled nursing assets, but it may start looking more diversified in the next few months. The best investments, says Matros, are skilled nursing, assisted living, and memory care, and there’s growing demand for senior housing and medical office buildings. 

The REIT is planning on driving its returns going forward by “executing on the pipeline,” he says, which contains “at least as much senior housing as skilled nursing.”

“We are really focused on branching out more into senior housing,” he affirmed. 

The healthcare sector has always been compelling to Matros, he said, originating from a passion to working with the elderly. Since then, his interests have spread to other aspects of healthcare as well. 

In the REIT’s second quarter earnings report, Matros said that ”for the first time, we expect our acquisition activity to demonstrate our commitment to expand Sabra’s portfolio into senior housing.”

Sabra posted a net income of $5.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, nearly triple the previous year’s $2.1 million. Net income per diluted share was $0.16, doubled from $0.08 a year ago.

Revenues increased 34% to $25.1 million compared to $18.8 million in the same period last year.

“We had a very productive second quarter as well as an active start to the third quarter considering our acquisition activity, refinancing, and the add on to our senior notes,” said Matros in the earnings report. “Operationally, our tenants had a nice quarter with strong improvement in rent coverage and an improvement in occupancy in our skilled nursing/post-acute portfolio, despite this quarter being soft throughout the industry.”

The REIT purchased four skilled nursing facilities in two separate transactions for a total of $25.7 million during the second quarter. It also originated an $11 million first mortgage wtih an option to purchase the skilled nursing facility securing the loan. 

Funds from operations (FFO) for the second quarter reached $13.5 million or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $8.4 million, and $0.33 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2011. 

Looking forward, Sabra expects to achieve its guidance on acquisition volume.

View the earnings report here.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Many senior living providers are considering diversifying their service lines by adding home health care services, but those in the market for acquiring a home health agency must exercise caution regarding who they work with, a new study from Northwestern Medicine Research suggests.

With 10,000 baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare each day, the need for caregivers is skyrocketing. Paid home care workers belong to the fastest growing occupation in the United States, and jobs are expected to increase by 56% over the next decade, according to Caregiving in America.

But not all caregivers serving in a professional capacity are qualified for the job, and only a third of home health agencies test for caregiver skill competency, the report revealed.

“Previous research suggests that individuals serving in these caregiving positions may not be adequately prepared for all that the position requires of them when caring for an older adult,” said the Northwestern report.

Caregivers often administer medication regimens that can be very complex, and incorrect medication administration could have a significant impact on the overall health of the people for whom care is being provided.

“This is of great concern, because paid caregivers assume responsibility for the majority of older adults’ health needs,” said the Northwestern report, which found that only one-third of agencies said they drug tested their employees.

Workers in the profession are often paid lower lower than those in other fields. A study published by Genworth Financial found the average hourly wage for a licensed home health aide was $19 in 2012.

While the pay might not be good for the workers, it’s often the least expensive option for the consumer who needs care, as the median cost of assisted living setting is about $3,300 per month, according to Genworth.

The cost of in-home care has stayed relatively the same over the years as well.

“Home care rates have remained flat in part because of increased competition among agencies and the availability of unskilled labor, and because the companies that provide these types of services do not incur the costs associated with maintaining stand-alone health care facilities,” said Genworth in its annual cost of care report.

Demand for in-home care may continue to rise considering its comparatively lower costs and AARP’s finding that about 90% of mature adults prefer to stay in their homes as long as they can.

Going forward, the country needs to address the quality of home health aides with as the older population continues to age and more families expected to rely on paid caregivers to remain independent in their homes, says Northwestern.

Better regulation is needed to protect consumers, suggests the report, but federal and state lawmakers should be cautious:

“Policy responses should be considered carefully, because costly regulatory measures could translate into greater fees passed on to older adult consumers. Using these agencies is already a costly endeavor for most older adults.”

If the costs go up, older adults and their families may resort to hiring cheap, unskilled caregivers “off the street,” potentially resulting in greater patient safety and quality concerns if reforms are not thoughtfully devised, said the report.

This content is sponsored with information provided by Genworth.

Holiday Retirement recently acquired Heritage Arms, a senior housing community located in Glenville, N.Y., for $5 million, reports The Business Review. 

Heritage Arms is a 95-unit independent living community formerly owned by the estate of Peter Polsinelli Sr., who listed the property with Prudential Blake Commercial in July of 2010 for $5.275 million. Mike Boehne was the listing agent. 

Holiday plans to change the name of the community to Holiday at the Atrium. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

LeadingAge, a trade group for nonprofit organizations in the senior living industry, has partnered with NewCourtland Foundation, a nonprofit provider of community services and housing, to make funding available to its members for programs and projects that blend housing and services for low-income seniors. 

With help from member contributions, LeadingAge committed $50,000 to the Innovation Funds in its inaugural year, and NewCourtland Foundation matched the amount for a total of $100,000. The funding is meant to “catalyze innovation” among LeadingAge members. 

“Innovation is one of our six Leadership Imperatives,” said Larry Minnix, LeadingAge’s president and CEO. “This fund reinforces our promise of expanding the world of possibilities for aging, and the matching support from the NewCourtland Foundation literally achieves this with the expectation that those possibilities will be realized.”

NewCourtland Foundation will work with LeadingAge to administer the grants, which will be awarded in increments of up to $25,000 in the first year. 

“The greatest need and opportunity for invention resides in housing bundled with services, and this collaboration will avail providers with much-needed resources to conceptualize and implement creative, yet common sense solutions for the aging services community,” said Gail Kass, president and CEO of NewCourtland.

The two organizations will consider multi-year proposals, and winning proposals will address at least one, if not more, of the following dimensions of housing with services:

• Assessment (development/implementation of resident assessment tools; using information to prioritize services; developing resident service plans)
• Health and Wellness Programming (health promotion activities; self-care management; chronic care management; transitional care and health education)
• Partnerships with Service Providers (co-location of services; development of formal collaborations with community health and social service agencies)
• Workforce Training (service coordinator training; property manager training around linking housing and services)
• Technology (assistive devices; retrofitting and home modification; wireless communication; telehealth)

LeadingAge members can submit proposals here. Applications are due on or before Oct. 30, but those submitted by Sept. 30 will receive priority consideration. Funding recipients will be announced in November. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Elderly adults who undergo surgery to remove cataracts dramatically lower their risk for a hip fracture within the first year of surgery, new research finds.

American nursing homes are staring down a cumulative Medicare funding reduction worth $65 billion over the next 10 years, a first of it’s kind 50-state analysis finds.

Congratulations to Liberty Lutheran’s President and CEO, Luanne Fisher, Ph.D., of Horsham, PA. At this year’s LeadingAge2012 PA Annual conference in June, she was named the recipient of the Paul P. Haas Lifetime Achievement Award.

LeadingAge supports the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act, a bipartisan measure introduced by Senators Al Franken (MN), Jay Rockefeller (WV) and Richard Lugar (IN). The legislation would give Medicare beneficiaries access to the National Diabetes Prevention Program, a proven, cost-effective initiative to help individuals at risk of the disease make the lifestyle changes necessary to prevent it.