In only a few quick weeks, the Nationwide Funding Middle for Seniors Housing & Care Fall Convention will descend on the nation’s capital. And the joy is already constructing.
In reality, there’s a superb likelihood we would see a file crowd this 12 months. You’ll be able to guess lots of the attending finance bros shall be keen to assist facilitate mergers, acquisitions and different portfolio expansions.
There’s even discuss of attainable blockbuster transactions on the business’s largest deal-making occasion. Which, all issues thought of, appears a bit odd.
Though there are indicators of market enchancment within the senior dwelling subject, the sector is hardly out of the woods.
Many operators proceed to wrestle with COVID-19’s lingering results. And the challenges are hardly restricted to filling items. They lengthen to discovering and retaining employees in a labor market that’s extra aggressive than ever, navigating an more and more advanced regulatory panorama, and adapting to the evolving expectations of residents and their households.
Including to the complexity is that the competitors is arguably extra intense than ever. New entrants are redefining each the definition and actuality of senior dwelling. This inflow of contemporary concepts and capital is forcing established operators to rethink their choices and discover new methods to stay related and viable.
The attract of fast good points from mergers and acquisitions would possibly lead some to miss the underlying points that also plague the sector.
As we put together for the hearty handshakes and nice chatter that can quickly echo throughout the Marriott Marquis, let’s not lose our perspective. The senior dwelling sector could also be on the cusp of serious change, however that change must be managed with warning, foresight, and a agency grip on actuality.
In any other case, a few of these superior offers struck later this month may not look so grand looking back.
John O’Connor is editorial director for McKnight’s Senior Residing and its sister media manufacturers, McKnight’s Lengthy-Time period Care Information, which focuses on expert nursing, and McKnight’s Dwelling Care. Learn extra of his columns right here.
