The skilled nursing and senior housing industries should now be “far more prepared to handle the third wave [of COVID-19] thanks to federal relief funding and stabilized operations, CareTrust REIT executives reported Friday.
CareTrust Chairman and CEO Greg Stapley said the company’s third quarter ran “pretty much according to script,” citing solid rent collections, improved testing capabilities, declining mortality rates and improved skilled mix to offset census weaknesses and increased expenses associated with the pandemic.
“Anecdotally, day-to-day, the operations seem much more stable than they were initially and we believe that seniors housing and skilled nursing industries are far more prepared to handle the third wave than they were six months ago,” Stapley said during a third-quarter earnings call.
The California-based real estate investment trust reported a net income of $21.6 million, or 23 cents per diluted weighted-average common share, for the quarter. It also reported that its cash collections for contractual cash rent in October was 98.7%, and it expects to end November collections at around 98%.
CareTrust has seen its overall occupancy drop roughly 9% between March and October, while higher-margin skilled occupancy has increased about 31% one the same period.
He added that federal “provider relief funds appear to be providing our skilled nursing operators with enough runway to continue operating comfortably for the next few quarters while vaccines through therapeutics and other mitigating majors roll out.”
“So bottom line, we see several more quarters of fairly predictable and manageable operating performance, especially if the promised vaccines are effective and rolled out quickly,” Stapley said. “We also see a path to a soft landing for most operators if we get into an extended recovery.”
CVS Health, coronavirus vaccine
CVS Health executives expressed confidence in their company’s ability to administer coronavirus vaccines confident to all, including long-term care facilities, during a third-quarter earnings call Friday morning.
CVS, along with Walgreens, was chosen by the federal government to administer coronavirus vaccines to long-term care facilities. Executives also noted that its retail/LTC segment has so far delivered more than 6 million coronavirus tests across more than 4,000 of its locations.
“We are pleased to have been selected to partner with the government in administering COVID vaccines when available for long-term care facilities. Our track record with COVID testing, along with our experience in vaccinations, have demonstrated our ability to scale services and we expect to play a significant role in all vaccination administration,” CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo said.
The company also reported that its retail/LTC segment increased its total revenues by 5.9% during the third quarter thanks to higher front store revenues, increased diagnostic testing and brand inflation. Additionally, the segment’s operating income increased 17.2% for the quarter.
