Senior Living News Wire

While the “Big Three” of real estate investment trusts active in the senior housing landscape tends to grab headlines with big deals, smaller and newer REITs to the space are seeking senior housing acquisitions at a solid pace on the horizon—albeit on a smaller scale.

For some, it may mean acquisition targets are portfolios of as few as three or more properties—in contrast to the dozens sought by longer-term, more established players. And while they still benefit from the same low cost of capital enjoyed by the big players like Ventas, Health Care REIT, and HCP Inc., in some ways they are offered more flexibility in the property types they are targeting.

“We will look at smaller deals,” says Kent Eikanas, president & COO for Cornerstone Healthcare Properties. “We’ll look at an operator if they only have a few facilities if they have a track record and want to grow.”

Cornerstone will pursue acquisitions in the range of $40 million—or $8 million, Eikanas says.

“We’re still selective, but the size isn’t a huge factor,” he says.

Other newer REITs to the space expect the pace of deals to continue, albeit not on the scale seen in recent memory.

“We are expecting the dollar volume to be relatively the same as last year, but we’re also definitely seeing an increase in deal flow,” says Doug Bath, chief investment officer for NorthStar Realty Healthcare. “It’s difficult to predict the dollar volume because much of it depends on what the big three REITs are buying but they’ve already gobbled up a lot of the larger deals.”

NorthStar owns approximately 80 senior housing properties and is a lender for an additional 20 senior housing properties.

“We target the regional operators and owners that own or operate between two to 40 properties,” Bath says. “NIC indicates that about two-thirds of our market is operated by companies that have fewer than 10 properties in their portfolio. That’s a massive number. There are a lot of very capable regional operators we’d love to partner with.”

A recent Wall Street Journal article brought to light a recent trend of large REITs in senior housing: a distinct “shying away” from skilled nursing properties due to the uncertainty surrounding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements in the future.

Executives from Health Care REIT and Senior Housing Properties Trust told the Wall Street Journal they were considering selling off skilled nursing properties in the coming year due to the uncertainty and financial strain those communities experience in the current climate.

Ventas, also cited in the article, said while it is not actively pursuing sales among its skilled nursing portfolio, it is not actively pursuing new purchases of the properties, due to the same risks noted by the other two REIT giants.

Yet newer, smaller REITs say that yes, reimbursement uncertainty is a consideration, but due to their flexibility, it’s not a dealbreaker.

“We’re consciously focusing on a nice mix of assisted living and Skilled Nursing Facilities mitigating reimbursement risk.  With that said, we will still pursue assisted living facilities with Medicaid waivers,” Eikanas says.

Especially given the nature of smaller portfolios of properties, skilled nursing communities are still viewed as an opportunity, although there are caveats.

“We do underwrite them differently,” says Kevin Maddron, Senior Managing Director at CNL Financial Group. “We pay attention to what’s happening to the reimbursement arena on a national level and within every state. We appreciate the risk but we see them as a viable component that will be a complement to private pay.”

In some cases, the financing can present a unique opportunity.

“Are we scared of Medicare and Medicaid? No, but we are also very diligent about investments that have reimbursement risk,” Bath says. “However, if you can buy a SNF at around a 13% cap rate and get attractive first mortgage financing through HUD or otherwise, the cash flow is tremendous. Although you will still have reimbursement risk, the cash flow could often withstand a cut and still generate handsome returns.”

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

Growing up in what she describes as a “very traditional Italian family,” Stephanie Handelson, Benchmark Senior Living’s president and chief operating officer, says she learned early on that girls can do whatever boys can.

As the only daughter with four brothers, Handelson says her father always encouraged her to “be all [she] could be.”

Handelson’s mother, a working professional, was also a strong parental figure who “clearly modeled how a woman can effectively manage a rewarding career and raise a family.”

Along with her brothers and parents, Handelson’s household, with whom she lived until her marriage, included her maternal grandmother—an influencing factor in her senior living career.

In addition to an MBA, Handelson also obtained her license as a home health aide in New York, where she got her start in the senior living industry as an executive director for a new start-up. There, she learned the ropes and made a personal commitment to “understanding the experience of assisted living through seniors’ eyes.”

“What Stephanie brings to anything she does—but particularly to senior living—is a passion for seniors,” says Tiffany Tomasso, founding partner of Fountain Square Senior Living and former chief operating officer of Sunrise Senior Living. “Great leaders in this field combine not just skills and work ethic, but also a love for what they do. I don’t know anyone who works harder than Stephanie—she is creative, energetic, has incredibly high standards, and never expects more from others than she does of herself.”

Tomasso and Handelson worked together at Sunrise Senior living for more than 10 years, with Handelson holding a number of roles as she advanced in her career from executive director to regional director to vice president.

After enjoying a “long and successful career” at Sunrise, where she served as senior vice president of East Coast Operations and was responsible for 200 communities, Handelson joined Wellesley, Mass.-based Benchmark in 2009.

As president and COO of Benchmark, which operates 46 locations as the 23rd-largest for-profit senior living provider, Handelson credits her upbringing and her mentor, Tiffany Tomasso, for her rise to the top—along with her own attitude of determination.

Senior Housing News: What influences, if any, did your childhood or background have on where you are today?

Stephanie Handelson: I think we all are always a byproduct of our childhood and for me, I know the importance of family will always resonate for me personally and professionally. I never forget to view this business through the lens of the families trying to make very difficult decisions about the care of their loved ones. And so often, the key decision maker is the daughter, which is another role that resonates with me.

I have always had senior family members in my life. In addition to my grandmother living with our family, I shared caregiver responsibilities with my family, as we chose to take care of my grandfather at home after a debilitating stroke while I was faced with caring for my own young family during that same time. I know first-hand the challenges, emotions and frustration of trying to do it all when a loved one is aging and in need.

I would be remiss not to mention again: I recognize now more than ever how important my parents support and encouragement was to my career. I was encouraged to not to limit my choices based on gender. Do what you love and the rest will follow. I strive to give that gift to my own two adult children today. It is definitely that gift a parent can give to their children that just keeps on giving and serves them through their life.

SHN: How did your upbringing and then your career at Sunrise help prepare you for your current role?

SH: I have four brothers and no sisters, so my dad never told me I couldn’t do something. Whatever the boys did, I did. Having grown up with that kind of atmosphere was absolutely a huge component of why I’m an aggressive leader.

You grow up with this mentality, ‘Hey, I don’t have to step aside—we’re equal.’ Not everyone has that when they’re growing up. That was really important.

Early in my career, that was very difficult. [Some] didn’t like the fact that I was very confident and would jump into a situation or conversation. It’s gotten better over the years—people are more unbiased, as it relates to gender.

It’s still not where it needs to be, but it’s definitely better.

SHN: Does gender imbalance at the corporate level need to change, considering that just three of 36 CEOs among ALFA’s top 50 senior living providers are women?

SH: I definitely think the numbers need to change, being a woman myself. It’s the stereotype [of the working mother] that’s slowly coming around. You had to work harder, be smarter, you had to be in a situation where many times your family came second. Or, many had to wait to have children if they wanted to climb the ladder.

That has changed. There are many couples where the wife is the breadwinner, and more and more examples where female professionals are also raising families at the same time they are growing their careers.

That has changed. There are many couples where the wife is the breadwinner, and husband may not be.

SHN: How can the industry bring more gender balance, and what is your advice to women and/or the industry?

SH: What needs to change is that women need to take more leadership roles and not sit back and wait for that role to be given to them. That will never happen. Women need to be a little more aggressive and confident in what they do and in their leadership.

In some cases right now as it relates to senior housing/healthcare, women tend to have more compassion, and most caregivers are women. They need to make sure they have a supportive partner at home, because these roles are taxing. It’s a lot of hours, a lot of travel. If you don’t have a supportive partner that makes it difficult. That’s an important piece.

I think most women tend to step back instead of jump in, and I think that needs to change, and we need to start educating our young females in the workforce and mentoring them.

There’s not enough mentoring that happens with successful women. We have the responsibility to mentor, and the next generation of women. Empower other women. If we did that and became mentors, that would have a definite impact in those numbers.

First of all, though, [they] need to be more aggressive, and be more confident.

SHN: Do you think that women in the senior living industry offer any additional perspective compared to their male counterparts?

SH: Let me first say I don’t believe strong, authentic and enduring leadership is ever gender based. With that said, the fact women are traditionally the primary caregiver, many caring for their children, their families, their friends as they manage their careers – women do typically bring an intrinsic understanding of the many facets of caregiving which allows them a built in lens on that critical element of this business.

But I also have encountered many male leaders in this business that definitely brings the heart required to lead in this business. At the end of the day, great leaders in this industry have to have the heart for the business. We are in the people business; we can’t get away from that basic understanding.

SHN: What are some roadblocks currently facing the industry?

SH: I think too many seniors wait too long to make a decision to move into senior living and the choice becomes need based, requiring assistance and they are not able to take advantage of what assisted living communities or CCRCs can truly offer: an enhanced lifestyle, and quality care.

There are still too many erroneous perceptions about senior living in our society and as a leader in this industry I remain committed to educating families and seniors, before they need to know, about the many options and value of senior living. Seniors who make the decision before they are forced to, typically always enjoy a much enhanced lifestyle.

SHN: Your colleague, Tom Grape, said in an interview last year that the baby boomers will turn assisted living on its head. Is Benchmark developing a model based on what that might mean, or is it still too soon?

I do believe that the baby boomers will bring a whole new level of expectation. Their wants and needs are very different than our current residents.

Benchmark is an organization that always has their eye on the future and all our strategies are forward thinking and building for tomorrow. Our seniors today are from the depression era, their expectations, in most cases are very different than what the baby boomers will want.

One thing I think we can all anticipate will be seniors who want what they want, when they want it, in the environment they want it delivered. Additionally, the baby boomers will come to the industry much more informed about their choices and not interested in compromising on their expectations. We anticipate much greater focus on technology and on-demand services.

This is the third and final installment of a series of profiles on women who hold executive leadership positions in the senior living industry. Click here to read “Women Aiming for New Gains in Senior Living Leadership” to get more information about Senior Housing News’ analysis of female representation in the c-suite among the top for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, or read Patricia Will’s and Mary Leary’s profiles. 

The rising cost of long-term care (LTC) is causing a “sticker shock” for many older Americans at risk of not being able to afford services in their old age, reports The New York Times. 

In the last year, the average annual costs increased for assisted living (4.45%), nursing homes (3.60%) and even adult day care (6.56%), according to Genworth Financial’s 2013 Cost of Care Survey. 

As these costs increased, so did the rates of LTC insurance policies. In April 2013, John Hancock and Genworth both raised their LTC insurance rates for women by 15%-40%, writes the NY Times article. 

While in the past retirees could lean on defined-benefit pensions to help them afford the costs of LTC, while also relying on the sale of their homes for some added financial help, the market crash of 2008 diminished the value of many retirement savings. 

Now with the impending aging population only to swell with the coming of the Baby Boomer generation, the issue of how to pay for care is becoming more urgent than ever, according to Maribeth Bersani, senior vice president for public policy at the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA). 

To address this challenge, a 15-member LTC committee was even established in Washington, D.C., with the purpose of finding more affordable solutions for older Americans.

On a local level, state lawmakers have been pushing for greater transparency in life insurance policy, specifically for insurance companies to make it clear to policyholders that they can sell a policy to pay for long-term care.

As costs rise, the need to pay out of pocket can be shocking both financially as well as emotionally, writes the article.

Read The New York Times article.

Written by Jason Oliva

How does your community measure up? Seniorhomes.com has launched a first-of-its-kind numerical rating system for senior living communities.

SeniorHomes.com will be assigning ratings based on a 10-point scale to senior living communities in the top 50 markets across the nation. The top rated communities in each of these markets will then be recognized in the “Best Senior Living Awards” program.

Here’s how it works:

•  Local experts weigh in on each community
•  Experts comprise individuals who spend their working lives in and out of senior living communities and span a range of roles including home care professionals, hospice care professionals, geriatric care managers, social workers, referral agents, and more.
•  Additional information is gathered from state inspection data, consumer reviews and more.
•  SeniorHomes.com uses its proprietary algorithm to generate a numerical rating
•  The ratings are posted to the community profiles on SeniorHomes.com

“We want to identify and recognize providers who are setting a high standard of quality,” says SeniorHomes.com founder and CEO Chris Rodde. “Our awards program is designed to give Top Rated Communities industry recognition and lots of exposure in the media”

Does your community score high marks? Don’t miss the opportunity to stand out among your peers through the first ratings system of its kind.

See the winners and find out more!

This post is sponsored by SeniorHomes.com. 

The healthcare reform initiatives sweeping the nation are sure to have an impact on the senior living industry, and they won’t all be positive, lobbyists say.

Although President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was scored by the Congressional Budget Office as achieving cost savings of $100 billion, the bill is expected to cost trillions more down the road, said Jordan Bernstein, executive vice president at government relations firm Cassidy & Associates, during the Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Conference & Expo.

“They have the ability to backload things,” Bernstein said of the Department of Health & Human Services, noting a $500 billion cut to Medicare spending in a 10-year span contained in the ACA.

While those “savings” are most achieved by reducing reimbursements to healthcare providers as opposed to Medicare beneficiaries, it will still affect senior living residents.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 included a Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate to control spending on physician services. However, Congress has suspended or adjusted the control mechanism for the last 16 years, known as the ‘doc fix.’ If there’s a year when the SGR conversion is not repealed, doctors will see 30% less reimbursement for Medicare patients, according to Bernstein. 

“Fewer doctors will be interested in taking Medicare residents” if there’s no doc fix, he said. “They don’t want to cut doctors’ pay, but think that if they cut hospital reimbursements there’s no impact. That’s not true.” 

Already, providers are indicating their residents are having difficulty finding primary care physicians who accept Medicare beneficiaries, Bernstein noted after informally polling session attendees. 

What’s going on, he said, is essentially “death by a thousand cuts” in Medicare. Hospitals, doctors, and skilled nursing providers are all impacted along with the senior living industry at large.

“They think there’s going to be no impact, but you’re going to see it in your communities with your residents and their access to healthcare,” Bernstein said. 

As a result, he believes the role of nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants will grow larger as states start changing what they’re allowed to do. Nurse practitioners will be able to provider services similar to what doctors do now, he predicts, while PAs may take on more of a nurse practitioner role. 

Cuts won’t be the only thing wrought by healthcare reform: the law contains additional expenses for employers, too. 

“[Providing health insurance] for employees will affect [senior living providers'] bottom line,” Bernstein said, adding that NASDAQ and Wall Street will feel the pain as employers’ costs go up. 

Medicaid expansion is “huge” issue, says Donna Denison, vice president, Cassidy & Associates. 

“How will healthcare reform implementation work when some states are expanding their Medicaid program, while others aren’t?” she said. “We’re a long ways from [knowing. In the meantime, employers will have to figure that out: whether they’ll cover employees, or whether employees will opt-out.” 

Even though Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), one of the Affordable Care Act’s authors and main supporters, predicts the implementation of the reform law will be a “huge train wreck,” it’s extremely unlikely the law will be repealed, Denison said. 

“It’s a scary time,” said Bernstein of all of the Affordable Care Act’s unknowns for senior living providers. “We keep hoping for the eureka moment.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The healthcare reform initiatives sweeping the nation are sure to have an impact on the senior living industry, and they won’t all be positive, lobbyists say.

Although President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was scored by the Congressional Budget Office as achieving cost savings of $100 billion, the bill is expected to cost trillions more down the road, said Jordan Bernstein, executive vice president at government relations firm Cassidy & Associates, during the Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Conference & Expo.

“They have the ability to backload things,” Bernstein said of the Department of Health & Human Services, noting a $500 billion cut to Medicare spending in a 10-year span contained in the ACA.

While those “savings” are most achieved by reducing reimbursements to healthcare providers as opposed to Medicare beneficiaries, it will still affect senior living residents.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 included a Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate to control spending on physician services. However, Congress has suspended or adjusted the control mechanism for the last 16 years, known as the ‘doc fix.’ If there’s a year when the SGR conversion is not repealed, doctors will see 30% less reimbursement for Medicare patients, according to Bernstein. 

“Fewer doctors will be interested in taking Medicare residents” if there’s no doc fix, he said. “They don’t want to cut doctors’ pay, but think that if they cut hospital reimbursements there’s no impact. That’s not true.” 

Already, providers are indicating their residents are having difficulty finding primary care physicians who accept Medicare beneficiaries, Bernstein noted after informally polling session attendees. 

What’s going on, he said, is essentially “death by a thousand cuts” in Medicare. Hospitals, doctors, and skilled nursing providers are all impacted along with the senior living industry at large.

“They think there’s going to be no impact, but you’re going to see it in your communities with your residents and their access to healthcare,” Bernstein said. 

As a result, he believes the role of nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants will grow larger as states start changing what they’re allowed to do. Nurse practitioners will be able to provider services similar to what doctors do now, he predicts, while PAs may take on more of a nurse practitioner role. 

Cuts won’t be the only thing wrought by healthcare reform: the law contains additional expenses for employers, too. 

“[Providing health insurance] for employees will affect [senior living providers'] bottom line,” Bernstein said, adding that NASDAQ and Wall Street will feel the pain as employers’ costs go up. 

Medicaid expansion is “huge” issue, says Donna Denison, vice president, Cassidy & Associates. 

“How will healthcare reform implementation work when some states are expanding their Medicaid program, while others aren’t?” she said. “We’re a long ways from [knowing. In the meantime, employers will have to figure that out: whether they’ll cover employees, or whether employees will opt-out.” 

Even though Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), one of the Affordable Care Act’s authors and main supporters, predicts the implementation of the reform law will be a “huge train wreck,” it’s extremely unlikely the law will be repealed, Denison said. 

“It’s a scary time,” said Bernstein of all of the Affordable Care Act’s unknowns for senior living providers. “We keep hoping for the eureka moment.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The healthcare reform initiatives sweeping the nation are sure to have an impact on the senior living industry, and they won’t all be positive, lobbyists say.

Although President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was scored by the Congressional Budget Office as achieving cost savings of $100 billion, the bill is expected to cost trillions more down the road, said Jordan Bernstein, executive vice president at government relations firm Cassidy & Associates, during the Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Conference & Expo.

“They have the ability to backload things,” Bernstein said of the Department of Health & Human Services, noting a $500 billion cut to Medicare spending in a 10-year span contained in the ACA.

While those “savings” are most achieved by reducing reimbursements to healthcare providers as opposed to Medicare beneficiaries, it will still affect senior living residents.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 included a Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate to control spending on physician services. However, Congress has suspended or adjusted the control mechanism for the last 16 years, known as the ‘doc fix.’ If there’s a year when the SGR conversion is not repealed, doctors will see 30% less reimbursement for Medicare patients, according to Bernstein. 

“Fewer doctors will be interested in taking Medicare residents” if there’s no doc fix, he said. “They don’t want to cut doctors’ pay, but think that if they cut hospital reimbursements there’s no impact. That’s not true.” 

Already, providers are indicating their residents are having difficulty finding primary care physicians who accept Medicare beneficiaries, Bernstein noted after informally polling session attendees. 

What’s going on, he said, is essentially “death by a thousand cuts” in Medicare. Hospitals, doctors, and skilled nursing providers are all impacted along with the senior living industry at large.

“They think there’s going to be no impact, but you’re going to see it in your communities with your residents and their access to healthcare,” Bernstein said. 

As a result, he believes the role of nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants will grow larger as states start changing what they’re allowed to do. Nurse practitioners will be able to provider services similar to what doctors do now, he predicts, while PAs may take on more of a nurse practitioner role. 

Cuts won’t be the only thing wrought by healthcare reform: the law contains additional expenses for employers, too. 

“[Providing health insurance] for employees will affect [senior living providers'] bottom line,” Bernstein said, adding that NASDAQ and Wall Street will feel the pain as employers’ costs go up. 

Medicaid expansion is “huge” issue, says Donna Denison, vice president, Cassidy & Associates. 

“How will healthcare reform implementation work when some states are expanding their Medicaid program, while others aren’t?” she said. “We’re a long ways from [knowing. In the meantime, employers will have to figure that out: whether they’ll cover employees, or whether employees will opt-out.” 

Even though Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), one of the Affordable Care Act’s authors and main supporters, predicts the implementation of the reform law will be a “huge train wreck,” it’s extremely unlikely the law will be repealed, Denison said. 

“It’s a scary time,” said Bernstein of all of the Affordable Care Act’s unknowns for senior living providers. “We keep hoping for the eureka moment.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The healthcare reform initiatives sweeping the nation are sure to have an impact on the senior living industry, and they won’t all be positive, lobbyists say.

Although President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was scored by the Congressional Budget Office as achieving cost savings of $100 billion, the bill is expected to cost trillions more down the road, said Jordan Bernstein, executive vice president at government relations firm Cassidy & Associates, during the Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Conference & Expo.

“They have the ability to backload things,” Bernstein said of the Department of Health & Human Services, noting a $500 billion cut to Medicare spending in a 10-year span contained in the ACA.

While those “savings” are most achieved by reducing reimbursements to healthcare providers as opposed to Medicare beneficiaries, it will still affect senior living residents.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 included a Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate to control spending on physician services. However, Congress has suspended or adjusted the control mechanism for the last 16 years, known as the ‘doc fix.’ If there’s a year when the SGR conversion is not repealed, doctors will see 30% less reimbursement for Medicare patients, according to Bernstein. 

“Fewer doctors will be interested in taking Medicare residents” if there’s no doc fix, he said. “They don’t want to cut doctors’ pay, but think that if they cut hospital reimbursements there’s no impact. That’s not true.” 

Already, providers are indicating their residents are having difficulty finding primary care physicians who accept Medicare beneficiaries, Bernstein noted after informally polling session attendees. 

What’s going on, he said, is essentially “death by a thousand cuts” in Medicare. Hospitals, doctors, and skilled nursing providers are all impacted along with the senior living industry at large.

“They think there’s going to be no impact, but you’re going to see it in your communities with your residents and their access to healthcare,” Bernstein said. 

As a result, he believes the role of nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants will grow larger as states start changing what they’re allowed to do. Nurse practitioners will be able to provider services similar to what doctors do now, he predicts, while PAs may take on more of a nurse practitioner role. 

Cuts won’t be the only thing wrought by healthcare reform: the law contains additional expenses for employers, too. 

“[Providing health insurance] for employees will affect [senior living providers'] bottom line,” Bernstein said, adding that NASDAQ and Wall Street will feel the pain as employers’ costs go up. 

Medicaid expansion is “huge” issue, says Donna Denison, vice president, Cassidy & Associates. 

“How will healthcare reform implementation work when some states are expanding their Medicaid program, while others aren’t?” she said. “We’re a long ways from [knowing. In the meantime, employers will have to figure that out: whether they’ll cover employees, or whether employees will opt-out.” 

Even though Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), one of the Affordable Care Act’s authors and main supporters, predicts the implementation of the reform law will be a “huge train wreck,” it’s extremely unlikely the law will be repealed, Denison said. 

“It’s a scary time,” said Bernstein of all of the Affordable Care Act’s unknowns for senior living providers. “We keep hoping for the eureka moment.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Consolidation in the senior housing sector remains the name of the game going forward in 2013 as the overall industry moves toward efficiency, according to a recent Seniors Housing Research Report, but construction levels are picking up as well.

Small operators with only a couple assets that need significant technology upgrades may find the current environment an “optimal time to exit,” says the Marcus & Millichap report on the first half of 2013.

“Cap rates are sell-side favorable and buyers with plenty of capital are scouring the country for the right deals, especially value-add opportunities centered on improving the cost side of business,” the report says. ”Cash-heavy owners will have a considerable advantage when upgrading to the new standards, encouraging some smaller operators to consider exiting the market.” 

With federal reimbursements becoming linked more strongly to patient outcomes, operators will need to keep track of residents and maintain medical records that can be accessed across the care continuum.

Despite a 26% jump in transaction volume for independent living in 2012, deal flow has been modest so far this year with the major REITs sitting on the sidelines, according to Marcus & Millichap. 

However, independent living demand is expected to remain healthy in upcoming months as more seniors can afford to retire. The report predicts a 70 basis point rise in occupancy, to 90.2%, in 2013, supporting an annual average rent increase of 2.4% to $2,879 a month. 

On the assisted living side, the number of properties that changed hands in 2012 shrank 40% as the dust settled following seismic REIT activity the previous year. Assisted living occupancy is only expected to gain 30 basis points in 2013 to an average 90.4%, with average rents climbing 2.6% to $3,728 a month.

The consolidation trend is expected to continue this year, but another trend is starting to gain steam: construction.

Texas has the most units of senior housing under construction, at more than 2,000, according to a Marcus & Millichap chart. Ten states, including California, Minnesota, Florida, New York, and Michigan, have between 1,000 and 1,999 senior housing units under construction. 

Independent living development is accelerating with builders breaking ground on almost 50 projects totaling 5,600 units in the past year—1,700 of them new—by the end of the first quarter of 2013, according to data from the National Investment Center (NIC) for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry cited in the report. By comparison, there were only 4,700 units under construction one year ago. 

Construction for assisted living units will accelerate this year, according to Marcus & Millichap, which will limit the pace of occupancy gains. Inventory expanded 2.4% with an additional 4,500 assisted living units across the country, according to NIC data. Another 7,200 units are under construction in the country—the highest level in more than a decade, according to the seniors housing report.

Development activity for Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) is at a new low, according to Marcus & Millichap, as builders are holding out until market conditions improve more. Occupancy gains in CCRCs have lagged somewhat but are expected to get some traction this year. Average entrance fees rose more than 8% in 2012 to $280,000, while occupancy increased 40 basis points to 89.3%.

The skilled nursing industry is getting some increased clarity on several reimbursement-related issues surrounding the fiscal cliff, the Affordable Care Act, and sequestration, the report says. Per-day rents will rise to $281 per bed, the report projects, 2.2% higher than at the end of 2012. Occupancy is expected to make gains of 30 basis points to 88.5%.

“Skilled nursing operators will feel the brunt of the [sequester and healthcare reform-related] cuts because a higher percentage of revenue comes from Medicaid,” says the report. “Operators with a healthy mix of assisted living and skilled nursing assets will be less susceptible to fluctuations in government spending.” 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

A growing national support for gay rights and an increasing willingness from banks to offer construction loans have given rise to more LGBT friendly senior housing projects in some of the nation’s largest cities. 

Projects catering to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors have already started sprouting up in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago, according to an article from National Real Estate Investor (NREI).

Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing began the first-known LGBT-specific senior housing project in Hollywood in 2005, according to the article. Having grown out of the Los Angeles-based Alliance for Diverse Aging Community Services, the housing group helped establish the $22 million Triangle Square property that now sits at Selma and Ivar avenues. 

In Philadelphia, Penrose Properties and the LGBT group dmhFund began development in November 2012 on the John C. Anderson seniors facility, a $20 million project named after a councilman who advocated for gay rights. The six-story, 56-unit building was funded by state and city incentives, such as low-income housing tax credits. 

Chicago has had an LGBT-friendly project in the pipeline since 2011, but is closing on the the project’s financing and conveyance of land in late April/early May of this year.

The $26 million community, Center on Halsted, is being developed by Heartland Housing Inc. and will be located in the city’s Lake View neighborhood. The six-story, 79-unit property is also expected to be built in a former police station at the intersection of Addison and Halsted streets, only a few blocks east of Wrigley Field.

The Center on Halsted project is expected to open by 2015, according to Modesto Tico Valle, CEO of Center on Halsted—the community center from which the senior housing project derives its name. 

In Chicago, developers see a demand for this specific type of senior housing, as Heartland plans to replicate the Center on Halsted project in the western suburb of Berwyn, Illinois.

Communities catering to LGBT seniors have been generally constructed as affordable housing, writes NREI, and while they must be open to all seniors by law, it is understood during development that these projects will be geared toward the LGBT community.

Read the NREI article.

Written by Jason Oliva

Construction: Planned

Texas Developers Plan Fort Worth Senior Living Community

Dallas-based HealthCap Partners LLC and Fort Worth-based Hillwood Properties plan to develop a senior living community in Alliance Town Center in Fort Worth, Dallas Business Journal reports.

The initial phase of construction would consist of 60-units of the senior living community, 40 of which would be assisted living units and 20 memory care units. 

Developing a senior living community in Alliance Town Center will expand on the area’s other health care offerings, including a soon-to-be developed $71 million HCA North Texas hospital.

A future phase of the project could see an additional 20 units added to the community.

Market Study Leads to $9 Million Proposed Senior Living Project

To meet a growing demand for senior living, a local architect has paired with a nonprofit to propose a $9 million senior housing community in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, reports the South Washington County Bulletin.

The proposal of the tentatively named Summerhill Crossing was the result of a recent market study, which found a lack of senior care services in the Cottage Grove area.

Mike Rygh, a Cottage Grove native and founder of Custom One Homes, paired with national senior housing and long-term care services provider Ecumen to provide an open house to discuss the project.

The community will feature 66-units for independent, assisted living and memory care. The breakdown consists of 54 units dedicated to independent and assisted living, with 12 units reserved for a memory care wing.

Plans for the proposed community will go before the Cottage Grove City Planning Commission on Monday, May 20. If approved, the project would go to the Washington County Planning Commission and then the Cottage Grove City Council for final approve.

Maplewood Senior Living Plans Assisted Living Project in Bethel, Conn.

Maplewood Senior Living, LLC plans to develop a new 84-unit assisted living community in Bethel, Connecticut, according to a report from Westfair Communications.

The project has been dubbed Maplewood at Stony Hill and will be designed by Perkins Eastman, a Stamford architecture firm. 

The assisted living community will place a special emphasis on residents with memory loss, according to Maplewood, and will also house a family and community Alzheimer’s and Dementia Education and Learning Center, which will be staffed by in-house experts, physicians and support professionals. 

“We’re thrilled to be building in Bethel and appreciate the town’s assistance in making this project a reality,” said Gregory D. Smith, Maplewood chairman and CEO. “We’re excited about adding new jobs to the local economy, as well as providing much needed programs and services to the area’s seniors and their families.”

Construction is expected to begin this summer and completion is slated for late summer of 2014.

Developer Plans Chicagoland Assisted Living Community

Village trustees in Grayslake, Ill. prepare to welcome a new 84-unit assisted living community to the Chicago suburb, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. 

Journey Senior Living at Grayslake is the name of the property presented to committee members last week by real estate developer Bill Hardy. 

The 79,000-square-foot, L-shaped building will have three stories and be located near the southeast corner of routes 45 and 120. 

The community will consist of a mix of six studio and one-bedroom units on the first and second floors, while the third plays home to a memory care area.

Journey Senior Living will be staffed 24/7 by 22 specialists, according to Hardy.

Hardy is applying for a special-use permit, which will be presented at the committee’s May 21 meeting. The Zoning Board of Appeals has already approved the request. 

Mainstreet Proposes “Next Generation” Senior Community 

The Plan Commission of Merrillville, Ind. responded with positive reviews to a proposed “next generation” skilled nursing facility and assisted living community, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The proposed community would feature a theater, office/business center, sit-down restaurant and bistro, according to site development manager Michael Klingl, of Arlington Heights-based Greenberg Farrow.

Mainstreet Property Group LLC wants to build a 65,000-square-foot single-story building on about 11.3 acres on 93rd Avenue, east of Broadway. 

The community would be 75% skilled nursing and 25% assisted living, according to Klingl, with 100 units that will resemble hotel rooms.

Mainstreet Property will come back before the Plan Commission next month with a preliminary plan.

Flintridge Partners Plans Resort-Style Senior Living Community

Flintridge Crestavilla Investors, LLC has closed escrow on an 11.5-acre site for development of a new resort-style senior living community. 

The community, Crestavilla, will be located on Niguel Road just south of Crown Valley Parkway in Laguna Niguel, California. 

Completion of land purchase comes just six weeks after a unanimous vote of the Laguna Niguel City Council approving the project. 

Crestavilla will be the first senior living community in the city to present residents with continuing levels of care, including independent living, assisted living, and memory care.

Residents will have the choice of living in one- or two-bedroom units, with floor plans ranging in size up to 1,190-square-feet.

The resort-style community will also feature Spanish architecture, restaurants, a health spa and salon, theaters and a chapel. In all, the community will provide more than 80,000-square-feet of indoor amenities. 

The park-like grounds at Crestavilla will include more than seven acres of contemporary landscaping, swimming pools, fountains, and walking and hiking trails.

Flintridge Partners’ development plans include energy-saving features including rooftop solar panels, water-saving landscaping, as well as indoor heating and cooling technology. The project is designed to be LEED Gold certifiable.

“We’re looking forward to starting construction this fall,” said Marlon Fenton, project director and development partner at Flintridge.

Flintridge Partners anticipates the 224-unit community will open in 2015.

$35 Million Senior Housing Project Planned in Joplin, Mo. 

Developers proposed a $35 million senior living project on Monday to the Joplin City Council of Missouri, reports The Joplin Globe.

The proposal by Wallace-Bajjali Development Partners in cooperation with O’Reilly Development Co. of Springfield is termed for about 150 units of senior transitional housing. 

Included in the project would be a 50-unit complex for independent living, a 40-unit complex for assisted living and another complex consisting of 24 memory care units.

The three buildings would be constructed on the southwest corner of 26th Street and McClelland Boulevard.

A nearby tract south of the Joplin Elks Lodge would house 40, two-bedroom patio homes for seniors who still want to own a house, but without the maintenance, according to Wallace-Bajjali Development CEO David Wallace. 

Wallace-Bajjali and O’Reilly contracted to oversee tornado redevelopment projects in Joplin, together forming SWJOMO Seniors LLC.

The two tracts of land for the project will be purchased by SWJOMO Seniors at a combined cost of more than $4.3 million by no later than April 2014.

Financing for the project would come from nearly $25 million in private equity and debt, and the partnership would seek approval from the city for $4.5 million in federal grant funds, plus $6 million from the Joplin Tac Increment Financing District, says Wallace. 

Frank-Collins Group Plans Multi-Million Retirement Community

A new multi-million-dollar retirement community is coming to Wood County in West Virginia, News and Sentinel reports.

Lakeside Landing retirement community was announced during a gathering Tuesday at Grand Pointe Conference Center in Vienna. 

Frank-Collins Group planned the development, which will sit on land off Interstate 77 at Staunton Avenue. 

The site is tucked away, but still easily accessible and also has access to local shopping, hospitals as well as other points of interest to retirees. 

Lakeside Landing hopes to keep even the most active retirees engaged while also providing a continuum of care for residents that ranges from independent living to nursing care in one community, developers said.

Units will feature independent living with the ability to adjust things as care needs change, including incorporating the need for caregivers so residents would not have to be uprooted and transferred to other care facilities.

Mainstreet Plans $14 Million Conversion of Hospital to Senior Housing

Carmel, Indiana-based developer Mainstreet is planning to convert an 8-acre site of a former hospital into senior housing, local news WLFI-18 reports.

Home Hospital on South Street in Lafayette will be turned into a 100-bed, $14 million investment, featuring amenities such as a cafe, salon, movie theater and outdoor trails. 

The new development will be designed with a focus on hospitality to get people out of their rooms, unlike the typical medical design, according to Director of Development Doug Pedersen.

The building will contain 70 beds for skilled nursing care and 30 beds for assisted living residents. 

Vacant since February 2010, Home Hospital is still undergoing demolition. Pedersen hopes to take the designs for the planned project to the Area Plan Commission in July.

If all goes according to plan, Mainstreet would begin construction in October and have the community open by the summer of 2014. 

Borough Chooses Developer for School-to-Senior Housing Conversion

The borough of Carlstadt, New Jersey has chosen a developer to transform Lincoln School into senior housing, according to a report from North Jersey.com.

Carlstadt’s Senior Housing committee recommended Ralph Salermo, of MAR Acquisition Group based in Elizabeth, to be the project’s developer. 

The committee’s decision was based on Salermo’s experience in doing other projects similar in scope and size to the one Carlstadt is undertaking, including five or six senior housing projects utilizing grant funding already under his belt, according to Mayor William Roseman. 

The senior housing plan should have no more than 30 units and remain on the existing footprint of Lincoln School on Sixth Street, according to the committee. Each unit will have its own heating and air conditioning, and the building would accommodate two elevators.

While the building would be age restricted, the proposed plan did not specify a certain age requirement. City ordinance, however, states that housing constructed as “age-restricted” must have at least one resident of any unit be 62 years old or over.

Also within the ordinance, only affordable housing is permitted within the zone. Once the contract with the developer is finalized, the process of obtaining an architect would begin, according to Mayor Roseman.

Construction: In the Process

Vista Prairies Communities Breaks Ground on $3.5 MIllion Senior Living Center

Vista Prairies Communities broke ground last week on a $3.5 million expansion at Fieldcrest Assisted Living Center in Sheldon, Iowa, local KTIV reports.

The expansion will add 25 new units to the senior community, including 13 for assisted living and 12 for memory care. 

In addition to the Fieldcrest expansion, the CIty of Sheldon plans to extend the street as well as update the water and sewer infrastructure to the facility. 

Construction on the new addition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Fresno Housing Authority Begins $6 Million Senior Housing Complex

California’s Fresno Housing Authority has broken ground on a $6 million senior housing development, Fresno Bee reports. 

Construction has begun on Bridges at Florence, a 33-unit apartment rental complex at 649 E. Florence Ave. near Edison High School. 

Seniors with annual incomes between $12,050 and $24,120 are eligible to live in the complex, according to the Housing Authority.

Construction: Completed

EMS Completes $12 Million Addition 

Minneapolis-based Ebenezer Management Services (EMS) will open its new $12 million addition later this month on its Arbors at Ridges assisted living community in Burnsville, Minn. 

The new three-story development expands Arbors at Ridges current assisted living offerings and features 62 assisted living units, including a guest apartment and six Care Suites designed for post-operative and therapy residents.  

The addition also allows the Ebenezer Ridges community to add memory care services, which will complete the care continuum for Ebenezer Ridges residents. 

Constructed and owned by Kraus-Anderson, the development will be an addition to the existing Ebenezer Ridges campus that currently offers skilled nursing transitional care, adult day care and child care. 

The company has set a opening date for the new addition on May 21, 2013, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for Saturday, June 8. 

Michigan Care Community Completes $4.6 Million Expansion

C.C. Hodgson Architectural Group recently aided in a $4.6 million expansion to Resthaven Care Community in Holland, Mich.

The 26,200-square-feet expansion includes a 16-room rehab cottage, gym and chapel and wellness center. 

C.C. Hodgson Architectural Group, a Planetree certified architectural firm specializing in senior living, worked closely with the Resthaven team to design the facility.

The $4.6 million expansion involved two consecutive phases, first the rehab gym and chapel/life center, followed by the new rehab cottages.

CCH also designed Resthaven’s Good Shepherd Home, a memory care addition reflecting a household design.

“Environment is a critical component to healing,” said C.C. Hodgson President Cornelia Hodgson. “We strongly believe that design matters because we’ve seen the profound impact environments have on a person’s behavior.”

The Resthaven Rehab Cottage is designed for the needs of short-term patients (30 days or less) recovering from illness, injury or surgery.

Each of the guest rooms have an overhead electric lift system to move patients who cannot walk from their bed to the bathroom. Additional amenities include flat-screen TVs, wireless Internet, heated floors and individual thermostat control.

The new rehabilitation center will link directly to the new rehab gym and will provide indoor connections to the chapel life center.

Engel Burman Group Opens New Luxury Assisted Living Complex

The Bristal at White Plains celebrated its grand opening last week in the Baltimore area, reports Commercial Property Executive.

The assisted living community was developed by a joint venture between the Engel Burman Group and Caiola Partners and is located on the site of the former St. Agnes Hospital. 

Shuttered in 2004, the abandoned hospital was acquired for $6 million from North Street Communities by Engel Burman, a Garden City-based company that owns and operates several Bristal assisted living communities on Long Island. 

The Bristal at White Plains began admitting residents over the age of 65 in November 2012 and is currently at 40% occupancy. 

The $30 million community features luxury hotel-like amenities such as daily housekeeping and laundry services, a 40-seat cinema, arts and crafts study, library, spa, private dining room, business center and heated outdoor pool.

The four-story building can accommodate 148 residents in 136 rental apartments with rents ranging from $4,000 to $8,000 per month. The building also includes 32 units dedicated for memory care.

Written by Jason Oliva

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) has agreed to acquire seven senior living communities from Ontario, Canada-based Chartwell Retirement Residences for a total purchase price of $80.9 million, the company announced today. 

The communities comprise a total of 613 units including 80 independent living, 493 assisted living and 40 Alzheimer’s units. Brookdale has been managing six of the communities since the company acquired Horizon Bay in September 2011. The communities are located in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana and Oklahoma, with two communities in Arizona and Georgia.

“The communities are well located, purpose-built, enjoy good reputations in the market and fit well with Brookdale’s existing operations. Brookdale currently manages all but the Alabama community,” said company CEO Andy Smith. 

Brookdale expects to finance the transaction with $61 million of first mortgage financing (substantially through the assumption of existing debt), with the remaining balance to be paid from cash on hand.

“This acquisition is a natural step forward following the Horizon Bay acquisition to demonstrate Brookdale’s ability to execute its strategy of acquiring certain of the managed assets if and when they are sold,” Smith said.

Upon the announcement, Chartwell President and CEO Brent Binions noted the company’s focus in core U.S. states. 

“The sale of this Portfolio is in line with our strategy to focus our investments in the United States in our core states of Florida, Texas and Colorado,” he said.

The transaction completion is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013. 

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

Whether a company wants its senior living communities to be reviewed or not, it’s going to happen and they need to be prepared. During the Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Conference and Expo, held in Charlotte, N.C. earlier this week, panelists told attendees the number of reviews posted online are only going to increase.

“Social [reviews] are the new comment card,” said Blair Carey, managing director of Retirementhomes.com.

This shouldn’t be any real surprise, as a report from Nielsen company showed that 70% of people surveyed said they trust consumer opinions posted online. The only category with a higher trust factor was a recommendation from people they already knew, which came in at 92%.

The number of reviews posted online can also have a direct impact on the financial performance of the community. A study from Harvard University found that reviews posted online have been shown to increase revenues 5-9%.

“The more comments and the more responses, the greater the [revenue] number increases,” said Carey.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of review sites dedicated to the senior housing industry. Over the past few months, companies such as Caring.com, Senior Advisor, Golden Reviews, and others have all launched or have offered reviews of senior communities.

“Companies need to decide which review sites are the most popular and where they should put their resources,” said Steve Moran, publisher of Senior Housing Forum.

The number of review sites can be overwhelming, but the odds are that all of the review sites won’t last forever.

“Consumers would prefer if there weren’t 100 companies,” said Andy Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of Caring.com during an interview with SHN. “There will be some that do great and others who are testing the waters. Those who are looking for a quick buck will move on.”

Managing those reviews is likely to become a part of everyday business for providers, according to panelists. If consumers are posting negative reviews, providers should respond quickly, be personable, and work toward a resolution.

“Companies must have a plan in place to manage [reviews],” said Blair. “If there is a fire or emergency [at the community], you have a plan, it’s the same when a ‘disaster’ happens online.”

At the end of the day, companies need to begin to seriously address reviews posted online as they become greater in number and will increasingly have an impact on customer perception.

“Online reviews are here to stay,” said Moran.

Written by John Yedinak

Health Care REIT (NYSE:HCN) is bullish on the upside potential of its senior housing RIDEA portfolio based on its location in primary markets despite occupancy challenges that could accompany above-market rents. 

The market has been applying a “do no wrong” mentality to HCN’s stock in terms of valuation, which is up about 23% from the beginning of January, said an analyst during the Toledo, Ohio-based REIT’s first quarter earnings call. 

There’s no question HCN and its peers—fellow “big three” REITs HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP) and Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)—have done a “very good job,” said Richard Anderson of BMO Capital Markets U.S., citing revenue per available room (RevPAR) about 40% higher than average in Health Care REIT’s RIDEA portfolio. 

Same-store net operating income in HCN’s senior housing RIDEA portfolio rose 5.6% in the first quarter from the previous year, compared to a 2.8% NOI growth in the REIT’s triple-net senior housing portfolio.

While Scott Brinker, HCN’s executive vice president of investments, characterized the RIDEA portfolio as “firmly positioned for internal growth,” Anderson questioned whether those expectations are sustainable in the long-term. 

“With some unknowns and a lack of a long operating history, what gives you comfort that you didn’t build your RIDEA portfolio right at the peak growth conditions and that the 8% last year goes to 4 to 5[%] this year and then to 2% or less in further years, particularly after capturing all your occupancy upside?” Anderson asked HCN execs. “How do we know that that’s not going to be the trajectory that will be coming down the path?”

The portfolio’s RevPAR has ties to the markets in which properties are located, said George Chapman, CEO and president of HCN. 

“We have purposely gone out to invest in the top markets in the country with the top communities as well,” he told Anderson. “So if you look at our RIDEA portfolio, 93% of it are in the top markets in the country. Everything fits, household incomes, housing values, et cetera.”

The excess against the national average is “definitely” being driven by the locations as much as the quality of the services that are being provided, said Brinker.

“The key difference with senior housing, you don’t just have an apartment residence, you also have sort of need-based hospital and health care services, and we tend to get premium pricing on those,” he said. “We actually do think that this is a sector that can provide growth in excess of what most other asset classes can deliver and they can do it on a more resilient and consistent basis.”

Brinker also addressed whether the REIT began investing in its RIDEA portfolio at a high point of the industry cycle.

“We started to feel it’s the opposite. We closed most of these transactions two and three years ago. We’re sort of the trough of the senior housing operating performance,” he said.

Senior housing occupancy has risen steadily post-downturn, Brinker continued.

“REITs have been positive and there’s still room to grow relative to the historical averages,” he said. “So we feel long-term that this is actually a pretty good portfolio to own, in general, because we like senior housing, but more particularly, the quality of these particular assets and operators.” 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

From start-ups to larger companies, tech businesses nationwide are seeing opportunity in the senior care space.

In this week’s round-up, one company’s video technology helps older adults and residents of senior living communities stay connected with their families, even if they are hundreds of miles apart. 

Another group’s online exercise program helps seniors maintain their independence through an easy-to-use online fall prevention tutorial, while two other companies have joined forces to create a device that measures vital signs and detects when a fall has occurred. 

Also, a new data-collecting sensory system has proven successful in reducing falls and lowering hospitalizations for residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in a cooperative effort between a New York nursing home and an Israeli medical center. Read on:

1. Digital Postcards Connect Families to Residents and Community Life 

Postcards, Inc., a Seattle-based tech startup, connects senior living communities to the world with their suite of apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

The company’s Postcards Communities enables residents of senior living communities to stay up to date with their families, regardless of their technology ability. 

Residents receive photos, videos and messages from their family or community staff in an iPad interface that is easy-to-use even for people with memory loss, poor eyesight, hearing and motor skills, according to Danielle Narveson, vice president and co-founder of Postcards, Inc.

“A key relationship we wanted to help companies develop was their relationship with the extended families of their residents,” said Narveson. “Postcards Communities automatically keeps families up to date on what’s going on at the community, without adding to the workload of staff or head office.”

Residents do not need any previous experience with computers at all, and there is nothing to learn or remember. Interaction with the iPad app is optional; it can be used as a digital photo frame that automatically updates as family and staff send content to it.

2. Video Technology Keeps Older Adults Socially Connected

Sage Eldercare Solutions developed their latest technology, VideoCare, in an effort to help older adults to stay connected with their families. 

VideoCare uses a touch-screen system to offer video calls and other options for social stimulation. The touch-screen has no keyboard or mouse and does not require any technical skill on the part of the user. A two-way video connection is made when the user simply touches the picture of the person they want to call. 

The system functions as a cloud-managed service so that all control of the system can be handled remotely by family members and caregivers. In addition to video calls, the VideoCare system allows users to send photos or videos from their computer or smart phone to a VideoCare user.

Video “postcards” or automated reminders can be remotely programmed to keep users on a medication schedule or remind them about scheduled appointments. The device also acts as a digital picture frame and music player.

“It is a priority to maintain or re-initiate connections with their family members and friends to help foster a sense of purpose and meaning,” says Nina Herndon, founder and principal of Sage Eldercare Solutions. “We place a premium on solutions that offer older and dependent adults the opportunity to reap the same benefits of a connected world that many enjoy on a daily basis.”

3. Post-Acute Sensory Tech Leads to Lower Hospitalizations 

EarlySense, a Massachusetts-based company focused on proactive patient care solutions, provides a sensory system that has been shown to reduce falls, in turn lowering hospitalizations for residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). 

EarlySense System relies on clinical data collected from The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, NY and Dorot Medical Center in Israel. The care providers announced the technology’s results in at the 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in early May. 

The poster advertising the EarlySense System at the event was titled “The Effect of a Continuous Patient Monitoring System on Reducing Hospitalization and Falls in Skilled Nursing Facilities.”

Out of a 833 patient records at The Dorot Geriatric Center, a 374-bed facility in Netanya, Isarel and 773 records at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, an 870-bed SNF—the transfer rate to the hospital decreased by 21% at Dorot and the falls rate decreased by 38.5% at the Hebrew Home. 

“The implementation of EarlySense on the post-acute care units has demonstrated a significant decrease in the total number of falls and a trend towards reduction in the readmission rate back to hospitals, thus improving the overall quality of care for the elderly,” said Dr. Zachary J. Palace, Hebrew Home medical director and the study’s principal investigator for the EarlySense System. 

The system also alerted early warning signs of patient deterioration, enabling Hebrew Home’s medical team to proactively respond and save four lives, says Dr. Palace.

“As clinicians we are always on the lookout for better ways to provide safer, more effective care for our patients,” says Palace. “The EarlySense system is the first technology to help us more effectively and proactively respond to early warning signs of deterioration and potential falls to secure better patient outcomes.”

4. Online Program Helps Prevent Falls in Home, at Home

Through an online training program from PrimeWellness, older adults can prevent falls in their home without even opening the front door. All that is needed is a computer and an internet connection. 

By logging onto the PrimeWellness webpage, users can create an exercise program designed to suit their individual needs. A survey asks simple questions related to an individual’s mobility capacity, like if they use a walking device or if they have recently suffered a fall. 

Once the short questionnaire is completed, users can begin their personalized, physical therapist-taught exercise program via a video tutorial. Users receive points based on how they perform and can even adjust the difficulty level if an exercise proves too easy or difficult.

The PrimeWellness program can be used as a stand alone self-management tool, or alongside skilled care as a “bridging tool,” to help get a person back up and on his or her feet.

Co-founded by a physical therapist, PrimeWellness just signed a pilot agreement to implement its program with Rehab Systems in Connecticut.

5. Tech Companies Team Up for Fall Prevention, Wellness Monitoring 

Tel-Tron Technologies Corporation announced it is partnering with AFrame Digital to provide best-in-class fall detection and health monitoring through its CompanionOne® wireless emergency call system.

AFrame’s MobileCare Monitor system includes a wristwatch-based monitor that detects fall-related impacts. The device continuously gathers activity-related data to determine the user’s location, sending a discreet alert if someone is not wearing the technology.

MobileCare Monitor combines this technology with vital sign data obtained from such wireless devices as Bluetooth-enabled glucometers, pulse oximetes, weight scales and blood pressure cuffs. 

If a person suffers a fall, or even has a vital sign reading outside their personal baseline or target range, the Monitor will generate an alert in real-time to caregivers through their mobile communications device of choice.

“We are very pleased to have AFrame Digital as a partner,” says Tel-Tron CEO Brian Dawson. “We have been looking at several products in the fall detection space and AFrame Digital’s product clearly delivers on its promises of accurate and timely fall detection and beyond.”

The two companies have already exhibited their technology together last week at the Assisted Living Federation of America’s (ALFA) annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

6. Status Solutions Expands Alerting Capabilities with Mobile Dashboards

Status Solutions has expanded the alerting capabilities of its Situational Awareness and Response Assistant (SARA) to include mobile dashboards. 

This upgrade enables users to quickly respond to situations as they unfold, allowing for more efficient and effective response planning.

The advanced alerting capability, known as SARA’s eMessenger, is mobile and WiFi-enabled and now features two-way talk, customizable controls, response logging to analyze performance metrics. 

SARA’s eMessenger allows its mobile dashboards to receive color-coded text and information about a triggering event in real time. 

“With SARA’s eMessenger, organizations can expand their use of mobile devices for greater flexibility, mobility and situational awareness in the palms of their hands,” says Jon Traina, solutions manager, Status Solutions.

Wherever they are, Traina adds, users have command of the information they need and can control how they respond to alerts all from one interface.

Written by Jason Oliva