Most skilled nursing have experienced some upswing in occupancy, although for some it has been only slight, according to results of a Ziegler CFO Hotline survey released Wednesday.
Respondents included almost 270 organizations. Approximately 60% were single-site providers, whereas the remaining 40% represented multi-site providers. The respondent pool was heavily weighted toward not-for-profit life plan communities, Ziegler cautioned.
Just 18% of the respondents said they had seen no material improvement in SNF occupancy in the past two years. This amount is about equal to the number of respondents who said they had seen significant improvement from the onset of the pandemic. Most said they had seen moderate or slight increases.
About a fourth of the respondents indicated that they have made permanent reductions in the number of their facility’s skilled nursing beds, by an average of 25% within the past two years.
Slightly more than half of the providers who responded to the survey expressed that they had no plans to reduce the number of skilled nursing beds within the next two years. Still, more than a third indicated that they expect to make at least incremental reductions over time.
“While no decision has been made, our board is strongly considering significantly reducing or exiting skilled nursing,” one provider said.
Biggest concerns
The biggest concern reported to the specialty investment bank overwhelmingly was the staffing shortage, followed by the regulatory environment.
“Staffing is a significant concern. We post for open positions but cannot find people to apply,” one operator said. “It is extremely difficult to find staff to fill call outs as many have other jobs or don’t want the overtime.”
“Pressure points” also included reimbursement challenges, consumer preference (to avoid skilled nursing altogether), changes in hospital referral patterns, dated physical plants and offerings, and the increasing healthcare needs of residents.
“Problems such as workforce and reimbursement challenges existed prior to COVID-19, but they are now at a crisis point. The pathway forward is very uncertain,” a respondent said.
