Experts weigh in at 2022 NIC Spring Conference.

Rebuilding occupancy is a top priority for the senior living industry. But the old roadmaps to success don’t necessarily apply in the wake of the pandemic and quickly changing market conditions. The labor shortage and shifting consumer preferences only make the task to fill units that much harder.

Effective, new strategies to attract residents were detailed by industry and outside experts at the 2022 NIC Spring Conference. The panel discussion, “A Roadmap for Building Back Occupancy,” was followed by lively breakout groups for participants to share successes and brainstorm new ideas.

“Building back occupancy is key,” commented NIC President and CEO Brian Jurutka at the Spring Conference. He added that the session on occupancy was first on the three-day program, reflecting the importance of the topic and the Spring Conference theme of “A New Day.”

Putting the discussion in context, occupancy rates are improving despite the emergence of new COVID-19 variants. Senior housing occupancy increased to 80.6% in the first quarter of 2022 in the 31 NIC MAP^® Primary Markets, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the fourth quarter of 2021 and a 2.5 percentage point increase from a pandemic-related low of 78.0% in the second quarter of 2021, according to NIC MAP data, powered by NIC MAP Vision. (The numbers were released in early April, after the Spring Conference.) This is the third consecutive quarter of increasing occupancy.

At the Conference, panel moderator and property appraiser Colleen Blumenthal, COO, HealthTrust, noted that occupancy rates vary widely. Coastal markets are faring better than inland markets. New supply in Atlanta and Dallas is filling quickly. Other markets without much new supply are still struggling. “Each market reacts differently,” she said.

Here are five ideas from the panelists on how to boost occupancy.

1. Address changing consumer preferences. Panelist Derek Dunham, vice president at Varsity Branding said consumers have changed. They are well informed about senior housing. “They’ve done their research,” he said. They don’t want to focus on the pandemic but want to know how the community responded to the health emergency. But he added that consumers are making decisions faster because they’ve already done their homework. “They know what they want,” he said.

   Adult children want to understand how mom and dad will be kept safe, according to panelist Courtney Siegel, president at Oakmont Senior Living. The company has opened 12 communities since 2020 and they are 90% occupied. Oakmont produced a new tool kit for on-site team members that provides healthcare resources for consumers. “We have to get the consumer comfortable to move into the building,” said Siegel.

2. Strengthen referral networks. Demand for post-acute beds is growing at New Jersey-based Ocean Healthcare. “We have seen a turn back to pre-pandemic referrals from our acute-care partners,” said Joe Kiernan, chief strategy officer at Ocean Healthcare. Demand is also strong for the company’s home health services.

   Metrics are crucial to boost post-acute occupancy. Providers must understand what measures their referral partners are looking for in value- based arrangements. “A big factor is lowering the hospital readmission rate,” said Kiernan. He added that population health departments drive referrals now more than social workers.

   Oakmont tracks data such as falls, the use of psychotropics and outcomes on a daily basis to improve care. But metrics are not shared with consumers. “They’re looking for trust,” said Siegel. It’s more important how they feel about the relationships they have with the on-site team, “That gives them the confidence to move,” she said.

3. Retool recruitment efforts. The tight labor market impacts occupancy. Some communities can’t take new residents because there’s not enough staff to care for them or process admissions. Ocean Healthcare launched its own staffing agency to stabilize staffing so it could grow occupancy. “We staffed our own buildings,” said Kiernan.

   Other ideas to recruit and retain workers include higher pay, bonuses and flexible work schedules. Some communities in high income areas are adding workforce housing for their employees.

   At Oakmont, talent recruitment is as important as consumer marketing, utilizing all communication channels, including social media, to reach potential employees. Another idea: Oakmont hired a full-time staff member to recruit applicants at job fairs at universities, colleges, and trade schools, generating dozens of applicants in difficult California markets. “It’s been very successful,” said Siegel. “We are full-time recruiters.”

4. Reconfigure older buildings. Many older properties have small studio apartments. The obvious answer is to combine units though that’s not always possible, according to Dunham. Make sure the small units are professionally staged. “Let people see the possibilities,” he said. Target consumers on the lower end of the income scale with emails of floor plans of units that are immediately available. “They might not think they can afford to live there,” he said. Small units might also serve as workforce housing or guest suites.

   Make sure online marketing campaigns match the available inventory. “Your marketing plan will evolve based on your vacancy,” said Siegel.

   Ocean Healthcare grows through acquisition, including the purchase of older county nursing homes. Group rooms are reconfigured as private rooms. Larger spaces are dedicated to clinical programs. “We need to attract people,” said Kiernan, noting that hospitals are creating private rooms for patients that look like hotel suites.

5. Improve tech offerings. Consumers expect robust wi-fi. The panelists also agreed that residents and families are looking for choice. A robust tech platform that allows the resident to order services or meals to-go can be a selling point. Zoom stations give residents an easy-to-use option to connect with family.

The session wrapped up with reports from the breakout groups. Some highlights: rate concessions don’t work and hurt long-term operating income; design needs-based housing more like a typical apartment building to make it feel like a discretionary choice to move in.

When will occupancy return to pre-pandemic levels? Kiernan thinks it will take 18-24 months though some regions will get there sooner. Siegel said it will depend on execution at the property level. Dunham added that some communities are having record years now.

Moderator Blumenthal emphasized the differences in markets. Some markets have already recovered; others will take a long time to reach pre-pandemic occupancy levels. Also, new residents are frailer than previous ones because they waited to move due to the pandemic. “Their length of stay may not be as long,” Blumenthal said, which could stretch out the refilling process. But in the effort to increase occupancy, stakeholders continue to explore a variety of new ideas.

More than 1,700 attendees gathered at the 2022 NIC Spring Conference in Dallas last month, surpassing turnout expectations as participants expressed a bullish outlook for the senior housing and skilled nursing sectors after a few challenging years.

A premiere industry event, the 2022 NIC Spring Conference engaged attendees in three days of results-oriented networking, information sharing, and educational sessions. The conference theme — “A New Day”— highlighted the shift from the challenges of the pandemic to the upcoming opportunities for senior housing and skilled nursing.

In opening remarks, NIC President and CEO Brian Jurutka reflected on the pandemic’s two-year impact on the industry. He noted the heroism of frontline workers and the resilience of owners and operators as everyone joined together to protect the most vulnerable Americans. “It’s too early to say the pandemic is behind us,” said Jurutka. “But we are finding ways to live with COVID, and it’s a new day.” He added that recent data show an industry rebound is underway.

The 2022 NIC Spring Conference welcomed the return of face-to-face receptions where industry stakeholders could socialize and strategize, and of the popular Braindates^TM that facilitated topic-focused small group conversations.

Timely educational session topics included rebuilding occupancy, boosting NOI, and how to recruit and retain workers, among other crucial issues. Plus, a new educational session format allowed for group discussions among attendees after hearing from expert panelists to tease out the important details of the timely topics.

See the April edition of the NIC Insider Newsletter for expanded details on the event.

Conference attendees may access high-quality video recordings and the corresponding graphic illustration boards of each session. In addition to the video recordings and illustrations, presentations are still available in the mobile app for download.

Mark your calendar for the 2022 NIC Fall Conference, coming to Washington, DC, September 14-16. If you’d like to be notified when registration opens in May, complete the form here.

Just over one-quarter of respondents noted that the severity of their staffing shortages across their organizations was severe, while two-thirds indicated the problem was moderate. Of significance, one-quarter of respondents had more than 20% of full-time positions currently unfilled. Regarding tenure of full-time employees, on average, just under one-half of organizations retained more than 80% on the job after one month. However, after one year, only 17% of organizations still had over 80% remaining on the job. Staffing shortages are often due to the inability to fill nursing aide positions, but wage competition and the inability to hire nurses also factored highly. Some alternative methods that have been successful in recruiting caregiving staff include offering daily pay, engaging resident marketing departments in developing staff recruiting strategies, providing housing in the community, offering flexible schedules that use different start times to accommodate childcare and school schedules, and more. Nearly nine out of ten organizations report that rising operating expenses are among their biggest challenges. NOI has been pressured for many operators due to the impact of labor shortages and higher wages, rising insurance costs, inflation-related higher-priced materials, and the pandemic-related decline in occupancy rates. Nearly 60% indicated that their operating expenses have increased between 6% and 14% since the beginning of the pandemic, with 30% reporting that expenses have risen 15% or more.

–Lana Peck, Senior Principal, NIC

NIC’s Executive Survey of senior housing and skilled nursing operators was implemented in March 2020 to deliver real-time insights into the impact of the pandemic and the pace of recovery. In its third year, the “ESI” is transitioning away from the COVID-19 crisis to focus on other industry challenges. While some standard questions will remain for tracking purposes, in each survey “wave,” new questions will be added. To understand operators’ labor and staffing issues, many new questions were added to Wave 39.

This Wave 39 survey includes responses from March 7 to April 3, 2022, from owners and executives of 69 small, medium, and large senior housing and skilled nursing operators across the nation, representing hundreds of buildings and thousands of units across respondents’ portfolios of properties. More detailed reports for each wave of the survey and a PDF of the report charts can be found on the NIC COVID-19 Resource Center webpage under Executive Survey Insights.

In the Wave 39 survey, just over one-quarter of respondents indicated the severity of their staffing shortages across their organizations was severe (27%), while two-thirds (67%) reported it was moderate. Attracting community and caregiving staff continues to be among operators’ most significant challenges. When asked about backfilling staff shortages, all of the respondents (100%) are paying overtime hours in Wave 39, and three-quarters (75%) are currently tapping agency or temp staff—down from a peak of 89% in the Wave 36 survey conducted in December 2021.

Roughly one-half of organizations reported that staffing shortages were due to the inability to fill nursing aide positions (54%). Wage competition (44%) and the inability to hire nurses (33%) were also commonly cited. Too much competition from other industries and staffing agencies was cited by roughly one-quarter of respondents (23%, respectively). Nevertheless, three-quarters of respondents (75%) are optimistic that staffing challenges will improve in the second half of 2022 or 2023.

Respondents were asked in the Wave 39 survey to share innovative methods they had found to be particularly successful in recruiting caregiving staff. Beyond generally increasing wages, offering flexible schedules, hiring and referral bonuses—all of which have been reported as effective to a greater or lesser degree—the list below includes some alternative ways to attract caregiving staff:

• • Daily pay
  • Scholarship programs/full tuition for nursing degrees
  • Personalizing sign-on rewards and benefits to individuals
  • Engaging resident sales and marketing staff in developing staff recruiting strategies
  • Perfect attendance bonuses for new hires at the end of 30, 60, and 90 days
  • Social media campaigns
  • Dramatically increased wages by 10%-15% in the last six months
  • Immediate phone follow-up after interviews
  • Housing in the community
  • Educating managers on how to manage more effectively in today’s environment
  • Offering employees access to the community wellness programs and clinic
  • Hiring in-house staff recruiters to update job ads every two days (acting as our own staffing agency)
  • Reduced new hire paperwork and utilized online document signing tool–now getting people hired
    and into communities in less than 24 hours
  • Flexible schedules that use different start times to accommodate childcare and school schedules
  • Hiring agency staffing that has worked in the community and wants to stay with us long-term

Regarding the current share of all full-time open positions across respondent organizations, significantly, one-quarter had more than 20% of positions currently unfilled. However, about one-third had 10% or less unfilled. Regarding tenure of full-time employees, on average, just under one-half of organizations kept more than 80% on the job after one month. However, after one year, only 17% of organizations still had over 80% remaining on the job.

Nearly nine out of ten organizations say that rising operating expenses are among their most significant challenges. Almost 60% indicated that their operating expenses have increased between 6% and 14%, with 30% reporting that expenses have risen 15% or more. Single-site organizations generally had lower increases in operating expenses than larger organizations with more properties in their portfolios.

Due to the pandemic, senior housing and care operators found it necessary to make greater use of technology for telehealth, resident and family communications, staff scheduling, and virtual and digital marketing. In 2022, more than half (55%) indicated that IT capital expenditures were between 5% and 10% of their total operating expenses. One-third (34%) reported that they were between 0% and 4%.

Across 39 waves of the ESI, the pace of move-ins has closely corresponded with the overall incidence of COVID-19 infection cases in the United States. This is demonstrated in the timeline below that shows the share of organizations reporting an increase in the pace of move-ins during the prior 30-days. Data from the Wave 39 survey, which was conducted in March, reflects an increase in the share of operators reporting acceleration in the pace of move-ins after the Omicron variant peaked and cases declined sharply in the U.S.

In the Wave 39 survey (reflecting operator experiences in March), between roughly 45% and 60% of organizations with independent living residences, assisted living residences, memory care residences, and nursing care beds reported an acceleration in the pace of move-ins. The largest increases were in higher acuity settings such as memory care and nursing care, but substantial increases were noted for assisted living and independent living, as well.

Most respondents reported no change in the pace of move-outs, which may support occupancy stability or increases in the coming months. While few organizations observed an acceleration in the pace of move-outs, of those that did, nearly three-quarters reported residents moving to higher levels of care (73%)—higher than in the Wave 38 survey (53%). This appears to be reflected in the large increases in the pace of move-ins in care segments serving residents with activities of daily living (ADL) needs.

Roughly 40% of respondents to the Wave 39 survey reported lead volumes above pre-pandemic levels in March—an increase from the prior survey (33%) reflecting results in February. Smaller operators are still less likely to have achieved lead volumes above pre-pandemic levels than larger organizations (as was noted in Wave 38), but single-site organizations saw the most significant gains. Single-site operators with lead volume above pre-pandemic levels rose from 15% to 40% in Wave 39. Given pent-up demand coming out of the pandemic and questions about the sustainability of record-high absorption rates in the last half of 2021 per NIC MAP Vision data, this measure in the ESI may be a leading indicator to watch with regards to occupancy recovery.

Wave 39 Survey Demographics

• Responses were collected between March 7 and April 3, 2022, from owners and executives of 69 senior housing and skilled nursing operators from across the nation. Owner/operators with 1 to 10 properties comprise roughly one-half (58%) of the sample. Operators with 11 to 25 and 26 properties or more make up the rest of the sample (1% and 25%, respectively).
• Just over one-half of respondents are exclusively for-profit providers (54%), about one-third operate not-for-profit seniors housing and care organizations (35%), and 11% operate both.
• Many respondents in the sample report operating combinations of property types. Across their entire portfolios of properties, 71% of the organizations operate seniors housing properties (IL, AL, MC), 22% operate nursing care properties, and 40% operate CCRCs (aka life plan communities).

Owners and C-suite executives of senior housing and care properties, please help us tell an accurate story about our industry’s performance. If you are an owner or C-suite executive of senior housing and care and have not received an email invitation to take the survey, please contact Lana Peck at lpeck@nic.org to be added to the list of recipients.

NIC wishes to thank respondents for their valuable input and continuing support for this effort to provide the broader market with a sense of the evolving landscape as we recover from the pandemic. This is your survey! Please take the Wave 40 survey and suggest new questions for Wave 41.

As the economy continues to move back toward normalcy and away from the pandemic, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 431,000 in March 2022. The data suggest that the war in Ukraine and the surge in oil prices has not dampened hiring activity.

Overall job growth averaged 562,000 per month in the first quarter of 2022, the same as the average monthly gain for 2021. Revisions added 95,000 to total payrolls in the previous two months. Nevertheless, nonfarm payrolls were still down by 1.6 million or 1.0% from their pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The March increase in jobs was a bit weaker than market expectations of an increase of 490,000.

“In periods when increased cases of COVID-19 occur at properties around the country, residents require isolation and higher skilled care, allowing operators to bill at the Medicare rate instead of Medicaid. As cases decline, you will see the mix revert back.”

– Bill Kauffman

NIC MAP^® data, powered by NIC MAP Vision, released its latest Skilled Nursing Monthly Report on March 31, 2022. The report includes key monthly data points from January 2012 through January 2022.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

Occupancy

After reaching a 19-month high level of 76.1% in December 2021, skilled nursing property occupancy fell 27 basis points to start the 2022 new year at 75.8%. The Omicron variant caused COVID-19 cases around the country to spike at the beginning of the year, which seemingly stalled the occupancy recovery. Occupancy had been relatively flat since July 2021 but the January reversal pushed occupancy to being only 383 basis points above the low point reached in January 2021 (72.0%) and it remains low compared to the February 2020 pre-pandemic level of 86.1%. The COVID-19 delta variant over the summer months and more recently the Omicron variant posed challenges to growing occupancy further. In many instances heightened absenteeism associated with sickness related to Omicron and restrictions on when staff could return to work safely caused many operators to limit patient admissions because they were unable to have sufficient numbers of staff to care for patients. With a national unemployment rate of 3.8% in February 2022 and the number of skilled nursing workers at the national level remaining 15% below pre-pandemic levels, the labor crisis is unlikely to abate anytime soon.

Medicare

Medicare revenue per patient day (RPPD) increased slightly from December 2021 to end January 2022 at $585. This was an increase from $580 in December and its highest level since June 2020. The January increase was likely due to the need for more skilled care as some residents contracted the Omicron variant. The federal government implemented many initiatives to aid operators of properties for cases of COVID-19, including increases in Medicare fee-for-service reimbursements to help care for COVID-19 positive patients requiring additional care. Meanwhile, Medicare revenue mix also trended up in the month of January, increasing 411 basis points from 21.1% to reach a pandemic high of 25.2%. Given the elevated number of COVID-19 cases in January, this suggests there was a significant uptick in the utilization of the 3-Day Rule waiver as COVID-19 cases increased in the month of January. The 3-Day Rule waiver was implemented by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to eliminate the need to transfer positive COVID-19 patients back to the hospital to qualify for a Medicare paid skilled nursing stay, hence increasing the Medicare census at properties. As the cases decline, the Medicare revenue share is likely to decline as well.

Managed Care

Managed Medicare revenue mix increased 54 basis points from December to end January at 10.5%. This was up 258 basis points from pandemic low set in May 2020 of 8.0%, but 57 basis points below the most recent highwater mark of 11.1% prior to the pandemic. The increase is likely due to growth in elective surgeries from the early days of pandemic, which typically creates additional referrals to skilled nursing properties. Meanwhile, Managed Medicare revenue per patient day (RPPD) inched up from $453 to $454 in January and has fluctuated around this value since August. Compared to its year-earlier value of $468, it is down 2.9%, however and it is down $106 (19%) from January 2012. It continues to create pressure on operators’ revenue as managed Medicare enrollment continues to expand its reach and coverage around the country. The persistent decline in managed Medicare revenue per patient day continues to result in an expanded reimbursement differential between Medicare fee-for-service and managed Medicare, which has accelerated during the pandemic. Medicare fee-for-service RPPD ended January 2022 at $585, representing a $130 difference. Pre-pandemic, in February of 2020, the differential was $99.

Medicaid

As Omicron cases spiked in January, Medicaid patient day mix decreased 269 basis points to 63.7%. It has decreased 313 basis points from the most recent high set in in September 2021. In a similar trend, Medicaid revenue mix deceased in January, declining 258 basis points to 47.5%. As mentioned above, this was likely due to the spike in Omicron cases in January as operators moved residents from Medicaid to Medicare days as they required isolation and higher skilled care. Meanwhile, Medicaid revenue per patient day (RPPD) decreased 1.6% from December 2021 to end January 2022 at $245. After hitting a high of $249 in October 2021, it is now at a level last seen in May of 2021. However, Medicaid reimbursement has increased more than usual as many states embraced measures to increase reimbursement related to the number of COVID-19 cases. Medicaid has increased 3.4% since February 2020. On the other hand, covering the cost of care for Medicaid patients is still a major concern as reimbursement does not cover the cost of care in many states. In addition, nursing home wage growth is elevated along with overall inflation, and staffing shortages are a significant challenge in many areas of the country.

To get more trends from the latest data you can download the Skilled Nursing Monthly Report. There is no charge for this report.

The report provides aggregate data at the national level from a sampling of skilled nursing operators with multiple properties in the United States. NIC continues to grow its database of participating operators to provide data at localized levels in the future. Operators who are interested in participating can complete a participation form. NIC maintains strict confidentiality of all data it receives.