Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Omega Healthcare operators have seen overall occupancy decline, on average, between 3% and 6% since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, executives stated during a first-quarter earnings call Tuesday morning. 

They cited a drop in discharges from hospitals following the suspension of elective surgeries, more rehospitalizations of residents due to COVID-19 and an increase in resident deaths as the cause for the decline in occupancy. 

The company reported there have been at least 350 deaths and 4,136 confirmed coronavirus cases in residents and staff members within its 250 facilities, according to Chief Operating Officer Daniel Booth. He added that the numbers will continue to climb as the virus spreads and testing becomes more available. 

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Operators have responded to the virus by implementing increased clinical protocols for infection control and enhancing screening for employees and residents. Additionally, operators have started to reconfigure buildings to create dedicated wings for COVID-19 positive residents. 

They’re also treating all new admissions as presumptive positive residents and placing them in quarantine for 14 days upon admission. 

“We do not know how long census disruption and elevated COVID-19 costs will last, and if the funding support from the federal government and the states will be sufficient to cover all of these incremental costs,” Omega Chief Executive Officer C. Taylor Pickett explained. 

Omega has provided some operators with short-term loans to purchase scarce personal protective equipment, according to Megan Krull, senior vice president of operations. She added that the availability of more PPE and sufficient testing is just now starting to occur. 

Krull added that the key to operator’s success with the added expenses will be federal and state support — for example, the $175 billion healthcare fund for providers through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

“The estimated impact of both tranches combined is an average of approximately $150,000 to $175,000 per facility that provides Medicare services with obvious variances amongst buildings depending on overall revenue,” Krull explained. 

She added that Omega has instituted regular email blasts to share information with operators. 

“Those emails blasts include a variety of topics, such as information on the CARES Act, including eligibility, interpretation and best practices; reimbursement information such as the ability to skill in place, information on PPE suppliers who have current availability as well as service providers; best practice sharing from our operators with respect to various COVID-19 clinical protocols and data analytics,” Krull added.