» Brookdale Senior Living workers in the Senior Care division will not receive merit increases due to Medicare reimbursement cuts and therapy caps, the Nashville-based company stated in an email to local reporters.  

» The Ensign Group is spinning off a real estate investment trust that will be separate from its healthcare operations business. Of Ensign’s 119 skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living operations, 94 will be leased from the new CareTrust REIT, the company announced last month. Executives said CareTrust will use the Ensign portfolio as a launching pad to diversify its tenant base.

» Hebrew SeniorLife has started a joint research center with Brandeis University. Researchers at HSL’s Institute for Aging Research and Brandeis’ social policy and management school will collaborate. HSL’s long-term care facilities in Massachusetts will serve as “training and research” bases for Brandeis students.

» Lutheran Homes of South Carolina has secured $34 million in bond financing, in part to support a new skilled nursing facility. The South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority collaborated in the financing.