Senior living communities across the country celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday, with teas, fundraisers, and even more creative events.

This year, Mother’s Day came after a big news week for the industry, led by a $7.4 billion merger. Also making headlines, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) had its best quarter in a while from an operations perspective, while chatter continued about a potential buyout of the company, the largest senior living provider in the nation.

Here’s a recap of the most popular recent articles on Senior Housing News to get you up to speed, and a few other items of interest.

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After merging with real estate investment trust (REIT) Care Capital Properties (NYSE: CCP), Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) will bring its total portfolio to 564 investments in 43 states, across senior housing, skilled nursing, behavioral health, and transitional care.

A Chinese firm currently appears to be the most likely potential buyer of Brookdale, Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut told SHN. Brookdale posted a big net loss in its most recent quarterly earnings, but also showed that it had been able to control costs and improve free cash flow in a tough environment.

Silverado, a provider best known for memory care, is branching out with a concept called Vivra. “The neighborhood is for adults without memory impairments who could have health concerns like diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease, but don’t necessarily need skilled nursing care,” Silverado CEO Loren Shook told SHN.

In the works at Washington State University, The Granger Cobb Institute would honor the legacy of a senior living pioneer by helping to educate the next generation of leaders.

Also in the News

CommunityEngage is a new offering available to senior housing providers, through a partnership of InTouchLink and ESCO Technologies LLC. InTouchLink is known for offering digital signage, dedicated community TV channels, TV-based and online staff training, and other services tailored to retirement communities. ESCO Technologies offers CareConnect, an integrated suite of wholesale communications and entertainment solutions for senior living.

The CommunityEngage offering is available as a value-add to CareConnect, and will offer such features as: a communication link between residents and families; an internal messaging tool; a learning management system for staff; and a simplified, senior-friendly internet and email platform. Read more here.

There’s a new push to combat senior loneliness, which is being described as a first-of-its-kind endeavor. CareMore, and Anthem company that provides Medicare supplement insurance, recently announced the “Be in the Circle: Be Connected” initiative. Part of this is an effort among participating clinicians to identify and address loneliness in senior patients, to improve quality of life while reducing hospital admission rates.

“Based on early screenings of CareMore’s Medicare Advantage patients in four states, we have identified 1,100 patients who may be candidates for our novel clinical program, and screening for risk factors will become a standard practice for all our senior patients,” said Robin Caruso, LCSW, CareMore’s newly appointed Chief Togetherness Officer, in a press release. “Our initial efforts are focused on building personal connections with at-risk patients through consistent and positive engagement. We will tailor and expand our offerings based on what we learn patients need the most.” Read more here.

“It’s a completely new experience for me, and I’m having a hard time to adjust. But everybody says the same thing: You’ve got to be here a while and you’ve got to go with the flow and take what comes. Mostly, it’s a nice, comfortable place to live.”

So says 100-year-old Edith Avise, about recently moving into a senior care community. You can hear much more from Edith on the LLAMA—that’s “Live Long and Master Aging”—podcast, from freelance journalist and broadcaster Peter Bowes.

Written by Tim Mullaney