Living in communal senior housing is associated with greater longevity versus residing in the community at large – but there is notable variation between top-performing senior housing communities and those on the bottom. These are among the newly released findings from research conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and funded by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). The researchers examined outcomes for people who moved into a senior living community in 2017 and lived there through 2019 or until death, versus a matched group of peers dwelling outside of ..read more

This article is available as part of your SHN+ membership The Jan. 25 Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on assisted living covered a lot of ground – which makes sense, considering that the committee’s last hearing dedicated to AL took place 20 years ago. Given the variety of topics covered – including resident safety, affordability, private equity and REIT involvement, staff shortages and training requirements, the quality of memory care, and more – there has been a lot to reflect on since the hearing adjourned. So, the hearing was still very much on my mind as I read Juniper CEO Lynne ..read more

Maria Oliva – whose pioneering career in senior living spanned three decades – died on Tuesday, prompting tributes from across the industry. “She was one of the great thought leaders in our industry – a real powerhouse, pushing ideas before anyone else,” said Laurie Geschrey, who is CEO/Principal at OnePoint Consulting and worked with Oliva for 13 years at Pathway to Living. Geschrey was not alone in describing Oliva as a powerhouse. “She was a powerhouse to the industry – unwavering in her mission to break out of the norms in seniors housing in the way that we were viewed, not just as an orga ..read more

Wages for many key health care workers in assisted living increased between 5% and 6% on average last year. That’s according to the latest edition of the Assisted Living Salary & Benefits Report from Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS), which is produced in collaboration with LeadingAge and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). The HCS data was gleaned from survey responses from 961 assisted living communities, and the effective date of the data was October 2023. Certified nurse aides (CNAs), registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), medication a ..read more

Assisted living services are most expensive in New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and Delaware, according to a new analysis from senior living referral service Seniorly. Assisted living costs average $8,248 per month in New Hampshire, nearly double the national average of $4,401, according to Seniorly data gleaned from more than 60,000 senior living communities. New Hampshire is one of only six states where assisted living care costs more per month on average than in-home care. Ranking behind New Hampshire, the other most expensive places for AL care included: –Washington D.C., $6,835 per month ..read more

Infection control protocols and emergency preparedness requirements are now commonplace in the U.S. as 20 states enacted regulation changes and updates for assisted living operators in the last year. That’s according to the latest annual “Assisted Living Regulatory Review” report from the National Center for Assisted Living, released Jan. 10. The report this year tracked three new categories – infection control requirements, emergency preparedness requirements and quality requirements – and found the majority of states enacted regulations related to them. Inclusion of infection control an ..read more

This article is available as part of your SHN+ membership The senior living sector was rocked this week by the Washington Post’s series slamming assisted living. The three articles took aim at multiple facets of the senior living business but mainly focused on elopements among residents with memory care needs. Senior living associations and some of the companies mentioned in the articles were quick to protest several elements of the reporting, and there are certainly many legitimate points to make in defense of owners and operators. And I understand the urgency in mounting such defenses, given ..read more

This article is available as part of your SHN+ membership Based on a number of recent news reports and research studies, I imagine the public is confused about whether senior living is affordable or out of reach, a good deal or a veritable swindle.  These reports and studies include the article headlined “Extra Fees Drive Assisted-Living Profits,” published in the The New York Times; the Senior Housing National Report for the second half of 2023 from Marcus & Millichap; and the “Housing America’s Older Adults 2023” report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Senior housing ..read more

Having successfully developed an assisted living community for Medicaid beneficiaries in the Washington, D.C. market, Northbridge is now underway on a similar project, with Amazon (NYSE: AMZ) among the backers. Amazon’s involvement will “give us a little more flexibility” in the new community compared to the first, Northbridge Communities President Wendy Nowokunski said at the recent Senior Housing News BUILD event in Orlando. Amazon invested equity into the project as part of the company’s $2 billion commitment to preserve and create affordable housing in three markets: Arlington, Virginia; N ..read more

This article is part of your SHN+ subscription During last week’s Q2 2023 earnings call, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) CEO Cindy Baier characterized the company’s focus on higher-acuity settings as a competitive differentiator. “Our diverse portfolio of communities, with a higher mix of assisted living and memory care, sets us apart from the industry, which is skewed towards lower-acuity products,” she said. Sign up for SHN + to read this exclusive content. Get Membership Already a member? Login Need more than 5 members? Contact us for more information. * per member The post New Dem ..read more