The majority of senior living industry members agree that continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) are decreasing their number of skilled nursing beds, according to the latest Holleran Insight Poll.
Of more than 3,000 senior living industry members polled by the research company, 59% say they “agree” that CCRCs are decreasing skilled nursing beds and adding more memory care and assisted living units. Nine percent “strongly agree,” while 21% “neither agree nor disagree,” 10% “disagree” and just 1% “strongly disagree.”
But the shift from skilled nursing units to assisted living and/or memory care isn’t driven as much by a lack of interest in skilled nursing as it is by many CCRCs’ reinvestment strategy, says Amy Castleberry, senior vice president of Chicago-based speciality investment bank Ziegler.
“It has long been the trend that not-for-profit system providers are reducing the number of traditional skilled nursing beds through the sale of dated stand-alone nursing home buildings,” she says. “But as a part of a CCRC campus, we are seeing a continued reinvestment in long-term and transitional care as many organizations are reinvesting in health care through refreshing and repositioning these buildings and programs.”
Repositioning efforts include moving from all semi-private to all private rooms, which can cause a reduction in bed count, she says, noting that there is also growth in assisted living and memory care in particular.
“For modern new campus projects, the trend has been toward a smaller first phase of independent living units and a greater mix of assisted living and memory care units,” she says. “The nursing unit count has remained relatively consistent.”
View the Holleran Insight Poll here.
Written by Cassandra Dowell
