The continued spread of the highly contagious COVID Delta variant could mean another semi-lockdown for nursing homes just as the industry starts to rebound from last year, warned the top executive with LTC Properties.
“I believe our industry is on more solid footing today than it has been over the last 18 months, and I’m hopeful that some of the remaining pressures will begin to ease within the coming months,” Wendy Simpson, the real estate investment trust’s chairman and CEO, said during a second-quarter earnings call Friday.
“That said, however, a serious surge of the COVID Delta variant across the country, especially in states with lower vaccination rates among staff, could result in the need to stop admissions again temporarily [and] delaying a full recovery,” she warned. “Hopefully, any such surge will be addressed locally rather than by a national edict.”
Federal data showed that the country’s seven-day case average reached about 67,000 new cases per day as of July 29. The rise in cases has also worried long-term industry stakeholders who called the next few weeks critical for aging services providers.
Executives also noted that the industry’s recovery had been trending in the right direction prior to the Delta variant’s arrival. Simpson noted that occupancy in skilled nursing facilities has risen each week over the last 25 weeks, with the exception of one week when census remained flat.
For the quarter, the company reported its average SNF occupancy was 69% as of mid-July. The company averaged a 68% occupancy rate in both June and March.
“We have come a long way since the start of the pandemic. It has not been an easy road but I believe we are now coming up on an easier road,” Simpson later said.
“With great pride, I can say our industry has learned many lessons during the many cycles of significant challenge and we continue to provide what I believe is the most caring service to the nation’s most vulnerable people,” she added.
