Third-party senior dwelling operator and consulting firm Well being Dimensions Group (HDG) has exceeded the 50-community mark because of new relationships with two nationwide REITs.
Now at 52 communities primarily within the U.S. Midwest, the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based senior dwelling supplier has grown its administration portfolio quickly within the final 12 months. The corporate is increasing relationships with actual property funding trusts (REITs) together with Ventas (NYSE: VTR) and Sabra Well being Care REIT (NASDAQ: SBRA).
“The expansion for us has been very purposeful,” stated HDG Principal and CEO Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey. With a slate of latest properties to function, HDG is placing its head down in 2025 strengthening outcomes earlier than pivoting to new progress rounding out the yr. Among the many operator’s present efforts is right-sizing its mixture of senior dwelling and expert nursing models.
Final October, HDG added 5 communities to its third-party administration portfolio following a brand new partnership with a personal fairness group with properties in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, together with an extra personal fairness administration association for a neighborhood in Gurnee, Illinois in November 2024.
Within the spring of this yr, HDG took on three communities underneath administration for Sabra and 11 communities with Ventas.
The partnerships with Ventas and Sabra date again a few years, leasing properties from the Sabra in Inexperienced Bay, Wisconsin and Brenham, Texas, together with managing six properties underneath third-party agreements.
Past exceeding the 50-community mark, HDG can be celebrating one other milestone in 2025: Its twenty fifth anniversary in enterprise.
REIT relationships help HDG’s progress
Like different senior dwelling operators, HDG is rising alongside bigger REIT companions, that are increasing their holdings in senior dwelling as development stays low and demand is excessive.
HDG is “versatile” in the way it works with these companions, with agreements spanning third-party administration and three way partnership endeavors.
“We now have particular relationships and we wish to proceed to develop,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated. “We’re seeking to develop with our current companions as a result of we worth them.”
The corporate’s consulting enterprise now makes up roughly 40% of HDG’s income yearly, and Shvetzoff Hennessey stated she sees alternatives to develop HDG’s session enterprise “on an identical trajectory” to its administration and leased portfolio.
Since Could 1, the corporate has not taken on any new communities and that’s by design, she stated, noting that HDG leaders at the moment are targeted on integrating new communities into the fold, whereas additionally offering them with ample sources as wanted all through the onboarding course of.
“We wish to ensure that we develop strategically and develop steadily versus speedy progress that may trigger issues,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated.
New transition workforce to deal with integration
Rising operators can typically battle to onboard new communities, particularly in the event that they tackle a number of in a short while. On the identical time, the sooner they will pivot from turnaround to progress, the earlier they will flip their consideration to different issues.
In response to those challenges, some operators like Brookdale Senior Dwelling (NYSE: BKD) and Sonida Senior Dwelling (NYSE: SNDA) have created response groups meant to enhance working outcomes. HDG equally launched a transition workforce solely devoted to offering newly transitioned communities with sources, coaching and assist as essential.
“That’s every part from tradition, management, coaching, techniques, advertising, medical. It’s a workforce that’s simply targeted on that, and what that enables us to do is to concentrate on these issues we will management in operations,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated.
To assist new communities mesh easily, the mixing workforce displays income, tempo of occupancy and observe tendencies in community-level staffing to enhance focused retention efforts, Shvetzoff Hennessey famous.
When a brand new neighborhood comes on-line, HDG conducts a reassessment of resident care wants and thru higher documentation, HDG care groups have been capable of establish potential income gaps, an effort seen throughout the trade not too long ago.
Enhancing staffing challenges, making ready operations
In 2025, Shvetzoff Hennessey sees alternatives and challenges forward. For headwinds, she stated this yr has led to extra “regulatory scrutiny” in sure states, together with elevated price inflation and occupancy stress in expert nursing. Tailwinds embrace a powerful rebound in senior dwelling occupancy, mixed with the wealth of M&A alternatives, she added.
Rural markets proceed to pose a problem to find certified expertise to work in communities because of inhabitants constraints and the senior dwelling supplier continues to compete with hospitals and well being techniques for workers.
To enhance hiring in sure areas, HDG conducts focused recruitment of staff from its hope workplace leaving the ultimate interview and coaching as much as the communities. Some key positions the recruitment workforce focuses on are director-level positions for communities, spanning govt administrators to wellness administrators.
Securing licensed care employees has been a persistent thorn within the facet of operators in recent times, and that is no completely different for HDG, together with some frontline culinary and housekeeping roles more durable to fill than others on the organizational chart.
In 2026, HDG will “double down” on life enrichment and curating programming for residents mixed with an effort to enhance retention of employees at HDG communities.
“This concentrate on life enrichment, on residents figuring out that it improves high quality, will increase monetary efficiency and occupancy, that’s what makes a neighborhood nice—each as a spot to reside and as a enterprise,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated.
Subsequent yr might be a “continuation of progress” with scale that’s “paced with our capacity to offer high quality outcomes,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated, whereas increasing companies with a Program of All Inclusive Look after the Aged (PACE) partnership.
“This might be strategic and even in occasions of progress, we’ll proceed to concentrate on our final aim which is high quality,” Shvetzoff Hennessey stated.
