Occupancy continued to slide for Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) as 2020 came to an end, with both weighted average occupancy and month-end occupancy sitting at 71.5% in December.
However, the new year brought better news for the nation’s largest senior living provider, with about 90% of its communities having completed or scheduled an initial Covid-19 vaccine clinic, the Brentwood, Tennessee-based company reported Monday.
With more than 700 communities across 44 states, Brookdale is the largest senior living provider in the nation. Its December occupancy update came less than a week after the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) released its industry-wide Q4 2020 occupancy figures. That data showed senior housing occupancy at a historic low of 80.7%, with average assisted living occupancy at 77.7%.
Brookdale’s Q4 consolidated weighted average occupancy was 72.7%. The sequential rate of occupancy decline did moderate in the fourth quarter.
Brookdale management estimates that the company will recognize about $78 million from government grant programs for Q4 2020, and about $30 million in expenses related to the pandemic.
In mid-December, PEHub reported that Brookdale is considering selling its home health and hospice business to generate cash.
On Dec. 18, the provider held its first vaccine clinic. CEO Cindy Baier was vaccinated during a subsequent clinic at Brookdale Stonestreet in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We believe Brookdale’s participation in this program allows us the potential to have a significant impact on helping our nation’s seniors, so we are prepared to make the investment required to administer it at scale,” she stated.
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