Invesque CEO: It’s Time to Throw Out Senior Living Playbook, Think Differently

With the need for innovation gaining urgency, senior living owners and operators should throw out the playbook and the whiteboard. That’s according to Scott White, CEO of real estate investment firm and Commonwealth Senior Living owner Invesque (IVQ.TO). “Don’t even start with the whiteboard, start with just looking up at the sky and dreaming and […]

Building Bench Strength: Brookdale, Brightview, Cedarhurst Confront Executive Director Turnover, Burnout

The senior living industry is grappling with a historic staffing crisis in 2022 — and turnover among executive directors is exacerbating the issue. As leaders of their communities, executive directors are responsible for smooth operations in everything from infection control and sales and marketing to resident satisfaction and employee recruitment and retention. An executive director […]

Harrison Street, Sabra Join Delos Effort to Improve Senior Living Health, Wellness

Harrison Street and Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) are collaborating on a new initiative aimed at creating healthier senior living communities and finding new solutions through research. The companies are working with wellness real estate and technology company Delos, which announced the launch of an initiative it dubbed Wellness Innovation in Senior Environments (WISE) […]

Cedarhurst CEO: We ‘Reapproached Everything,’ Shed 20 Properties for New Senior Living Era

Last month brought news that non-traded REIT Healthcare Trust would transition 20 senior living communities managed by Cedarhurst Senior Living to other operators. This portfolio change is part of a comprehensive effort that Cedarhurst is undertaking, which involves new strategies and operational practices shaped by the challenges and disruptions of the last two years. “We […]

Sonida Senior Living Expects to Hit Pre-Pandemic Occupancy in 2022 as Margins Fall Behind

Sonida Senior Living (NYSE: SNDA) is on track to reach pre-pandemic occupancy levels in 2022 — but the company’s net operating margin is still lagging behind. With occupancy rates rising and other sales metrics trending positive and a major rebranding effort behind the company, Sonida CEO Kimberly Lody said 2021 was a transformational year. After […]

Pathway to Living’s New Leader Takes Novel Approach to Recruiting, Is Focused on Correctly Pricing Care

As many senior living operators have doubled down on growing their in-house recruiting capabilities, Pathway to Living took a different approach by outsourcing it entirely. Like much of the rest of the industry, the Chicago-based operator was facing high turnover rates in its 48 communities across the U.S. Not only that, the company was also […]

Lifespace CCRC Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Sues Landlord

A luxury community owned and operated by Lifespace Communities is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after encountering financial headwinds due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dallas, Texas-based continuing care retirement community (CCRC), Edgemere is currently negotiating with its financial stakeholders on a restructuring plan, according to an April 14 press release about the bankruptcy filing. […]

Senior Living’s Talent Pool is Shrinking. These Strategies Could Help Widen It

As the senior living labor pool continues to shrink, operators are finding ways to reinvent old tactics for attracting prospective employees and finding new ways to combat staffing issues. It’s no secret that operators are facing recruitment and retention issues amid a highly competitive labor market. The assisted living workforce contracted 6.7% between February 2020 […]

A New Senior Living Operating Model Comes Into View After 2 Years of Disruption

Senior living operators have been enacting changes in operations since the Covid-19 pandemic began, but some adaptations have been fleeting while others have proven longer-lasting.  Recent conversations with several executives — including with large providers such as Brookdale, Frontier and Senior Lifestyle — highlight that operators now have committed to new practices across essentially every […]