Literature Review

Well-being of older adults, workforce prioritized in executive orderMcKnights Senior Living, by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 1/8/24The well-being of older adults and members of the direct care workforce has become a top priority in Maryland with the recent signing of an executive order meant to address challenges related to the state’s aging population. Senior living industry representatives say the effort has “tremendous” potential for operators in the state.

Cap rates increase by 74 basis points across all segments of senior living and careMcKnight's Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele GaivinThe average senior housing and care capitalization rate across all segments increased by 74 basis points between April and October, according to results of the 13th edition of CBRE’s US Senior Housing & Care Investor Survey for the second half of 2023. An April survey had found that cap rates had increased for all sectors but skilled nursing. 

Ensign (ENSG) buys 2 nursing facilities in Tennessee & NevadaZacks Equity Research; 1/2/24 The Ensign Group, Inc. announced that it bought the operations of a nursing facility in Harrogate, TN. It has also acquired the operations of a nursing facility in Sparks, NV. ... The 116-bed unit in Harrogate, named TriState Health and Rehabilitation Center, is ENSG’s first skilled nursing facility in Tennessee. ... The other acquisition, the 125-bed Hearthstone Health and Rehabilitation facility in Nevada, is likely to boost its footprint in the region. The acquisition deals have increased Ensign's portfolio to encompass 299 healthcare operations spanning 14 states. Of the total, 27 also have senior living operations. 

A medication mistake cost a Lockport woman her life. A new grant aims to help others avoid same fateThe Buffalo News, by Scott Scanlon; 1/2/24 In a perfect health care system, patients who ended up in the hospital would start to feel better soon and go home with a recovery plan, along with any medications designed to help in that process. ... “All medications have side effects, and some are especially harmful in older adults,” UB officials said in announcing a four-year, $1.95 million grant focused on improving medication prescribing.

Continuum Of CareTallahassee Magazine, by Steve Bornhoft; 12/31/23Leaders seek seamless approach to services. In the United States, health services are delivered based on what Mark O’Bryant sees as a “reverse model.” Some might even call it a perverse model.

Lawsuit—Minnesota’s free training hurt nursing assistant schoolsStar Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)December 26, 2023A group of nursing assistant training schools has sued Minnesota, saying their business has been undercut by the state’s free training program. With its no-cost training for would-be nursing assistants, Minnesota’s two-year-old Next Generation Nursing Assistant training program has been hailed as a solution to the state’s worsening health care labor shortage. But providers left on the outside of that program say they have struggled. 

America has a life expectancy crisis. But it’s not a political priority.Washington PostDecember 28, 2023The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration had an urgent message last winter for his colleagues, brandishing data that life expectancy in the United States had fallen again—the biggest two-year decline in a century. Robert Califf’s warning, summarized by three people with knowledge of the conversations, boiled down to this: Americans’ life expectancy is going the wrong way. 

The dementia crisis is here. Better training can’t wait.EditorialWashington PostDecember 22, 2023... [A] rise in the number of older Americans also means a rise in the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. ... Recent years have brought a substantial increase in people with dementia residing in assisted-living homes. As a Post investigative series has revealed in appalling detail, these centers aren’t always equipped to provide the special care that people with dementia need. To be sure, assisted-living centers were not created as homes for people with dementia or any other serious health problems. ... The Post reporters found many instances in which assisted-living staff members, often overworked and poorly paid, neglected patients, missed giving them their medicines, skipped scheduled bed checks or ignored alarms. 

Chatty robot helps seniors fight loneliness through AI companionshipAssociated Press/Washington Post, 12/22/23Coral Springs, FL—Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. A few miles away, the same voice comforted 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died. In central New York, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends. The women are some of the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to alleviate the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. “It’s entertaining. You can actually talk to her,” said Loaiza, 81, whose ElliQ in suburban Fort Lauderdale nicknamed her “Jellybean” for no particular reason.

Healthcare organizations hiring, retaining more employees—FitchModern HealthcareDecember 20, 2023Hospital employment numbers have increased, while healthcare job openings are on the decline—though the industry is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 17.2 million individuals were on the payroll at healthcare organizations in November 2023, compared with 16.6 million in December 2022, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Dauphin County senior living facility announces closure; approx. 40 residents affectedWHTM-TV (Harrisburg, PA)December 18, 2023Harrisburg, PA—A local senior care facility that is located in Harrisburg recently announced that it will be closing its doors. 

Washington Post Investigation on Elopements Puts Memory Care in the SpotlightSenior Housing NewsDecember 20, 2023A series of investigations from the Washington Post on resident elopement and staffing has shone a new light on memory care operators and the challenges they face keeping residents safe. One of the Post stories, published over the weekend, centered on residents who wandered away from memory care communities since 2018, almost 100 of which died. Most of the incidents involved residents of memory care communities, and among the struggles highlighted were staffing shortages and improper training. The story represents a new source of scrutiny for an industry that has intermittently struggled with bad press since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Berkshire VNA Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Reach Tentative Agreement on First MNA Contract to Stabilize Staffing and Improve Patient CarePRNewswireDecember 18, 2023Pittsfield, MA—The nurses and healthcare professionals of the Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, reached a tentative agreement on December 15 with Berkshire Health Systems, agreeing on contract terms that give BVNA clinicians a wage step scale and tackle some productivity issues to help with recruitment and retention and address patient care access problems.