Editor’s Picks: Glass Ceilings and 105-Year-Old Record-Breakers

So far, 2017 has been an eventful year for the senior housing industry.

In the first week of the new year, the stories dominating industry headlines included a $9.5 million EB-5 fraud scheme, C-suite changes at health care real estate investment trust (REIT) Welltower (NYSE: HCN) and the prospect of shattering existing glass ceilings in senior housing leadership.

Here at Senior Housing News, we were pleased to learn that a 105-year-old Frenchman has set a world record in cycling—and, to be honest, the news really put our own New Year’s Resolutions into perspective.

Most Read

SEC: Senior Housing Developer Stole $9.5 Million in EB-5 Scheme—The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued private equity group PDC Capital Group, LLC, which has senior housing ties, for engaging in a $9.5 million scheme by defrauding investors. The fraudster allegedly stole millions to pay for his lavish lifestyle, including the purchase and maintenance of a yacht, as well as supporting his other businesses.

Welltower CEO DeRosa Extends Contract, CIO Brinker Departs—As part of a reorganization of top leadership at Welltower, Thomas DeRosa is set to remain CEO of the Toledo, Ohio-based health care REIT through April 2020, while Chief Investment Officer Scott Brinker will leave the company effective Jan. 3. Welltower also unveiled several other leadership changes, most of which were effective immediately.

Senior Living Companies Shatter Glass Ceilings to Boost Performance—The United States may not have elected the nation’s first female president, but just as Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman ever to be nominated by a major party for the American presidency, the senior housing sector continues to make strides to shatter its own glass ceilings. There are still relatively few female CEOs in the industry, though there are indeed more women at the executive level of companies than there might have been five to 10 years ago, according to Brenda Bacon, President and CEO of Brandywine Senior Living. 

Weekend Reads

The Assisted Living Home Where Stars Live Out their Golden Years—The Lillian Booth Actors’ Home in Englewood, New Jersey, is currently home to 124 elderly actors, musicians, directors, designers and “their nearest and dearest,” the New York Post reports. The community is “where showpeople go when they can’t afford to spend their sunset years in ‘Sunset Boulevard’-like splendor,” the article explains. 

105-Year-Old Frenchman Sets Cycling Record—105-year-old Frenchman Robert Marchand recently set a world record in cycling for the 105-plus age category by biking 22.547 kilometers in one hour, CBS News reports. “I’m now waiting for a rival,” Marchand said. 

Also in the News 

National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) President and CEO Eric Mendelsohn rang the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 19, 2016, to celebrate NHI’s 25 years of being listed on the NYSE.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson