Erickson Retirement Communities, a major developer of continuing care retirement communities, will eliminate more than 250 full- and part-time positions in reaction to turmoil in the financial markets, the company said Thursday.

John Erickson, founder of Erickson Retirement Communities, a major senior living company, has stepped down from his post as the company's CEO, effective immediately.

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. took some defensive action to avert a potential takeover after its stock hit a new low this week, plummeting to $0.38 per share, a news report said.

Sunrise Senior Living Inc., the largest assisted living chain in the United States, lost nearly $69 million in the third quarter of 2008. That reportedly is the company's worst loss in eight years.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. widened its loss in the third quarter to $21 million or $0.56 per share, while revenues grew by a slight 1%.

Times are tough economically, but they're not impossible, said Larry Minnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, in an interview with McKnight's on Monday.

Golden Living should be synonymous with quality care, Dr. Neil Kurtz, the new CEO and president of Golden Living, told McKnight's this week.

The controversial $700 billion bailout plan signed by the president last week is likely to have a positive effect on long-term care housing, according to an expert from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Congress was attempting to hammer out an agreement Wednesday on a $700 bailout package for the unstable financial sector. Such action is good news for long-term care and seniors' retirement accounts, according to Bruce Yarwood, president of the American Health Care Association.

Both employers and employees are paying more for healthcare, according to several recent surveys chronicling the rise and fall of employer-sponsored healthcare rates and premiums over the last year.