Beachwood, Ohio — Saber Healthcare Group has finalized one of the biggest single expansions in its 25-year history, snapping up 27 skilled nursing facilities across three states in a deal that vaults the company into the top tier of American long-term care operators. The acquisition, which industry sources confirm involves former Ciena Healthcare properties, adds more than 3,000 licensed beds to Saber’s portfolio and moves the company from regional player to national heavyweight — now ranked as the fifth-largest skilled nursing chain in the United States. The Deal Breakdown The transaction closed in two tranches. Virginia and North Carolina facilities…
Author: Mordy Y
Columbus, Ohio — Sam Frank Ray developed a pressure ulcer so severe it exposed his tailbone. According to a lawsuit filed by his family, staff at the Arbors at Sylvania left him in the same position through 33 separate eight-hour shifts. The wound became infected, and he died. Since January 2024, at least 11 plaintiffs have filed wrongful death lawsuits against facilities in the Arbors at Ohio chain, according to court records reviewed by Signal Statewide. The chain operates 16 skilled nursing facilities across Ohio, all managed by Louisville-based Prestige Healthcare. The Human Toll Ray’s story is not isolated. Lucy…
Chicago, Illinois — A growing number of hospital systems are placing their own physicians and nurse practitioners directly inside skilled nursing facilities, and the early data on readmissions is reshaping how operators pursue hospital partnerships. The model, often called a Post Acute Network or PAN program, focuses on patients discharged from hospitals into skilled nursing care. According to industry reports, the approach is driving down rehospitalizations, shortening lengths of stay, and helping hospitals capture meaningful Medicare savings — all while pushing nursing homes to operate at a tighter clinical pace. The Advocate model Advocate Health, which launched its PAN program…
Hartford, Connecticut — States are starting to move faster on nursing home ownership rules as lawmakers and regulators focus more directly on private equity’s role in long-term care. Connecticut last week enacted a new law requiring private equity-backed nursing homes to disclose more of their financial dealings to the state while also barring those investors from directing day-to-day resident care decisions. The move came after a string of high-profile facility failures and emergency resident relocations in the state, according to industry reports and state coverage of the legislation. The new law lands at a tense moment for skilled nursing operators…
Washington, D.C. — Nearly 700 nursing home operators are about to descend on the nation’s capital, and they’re carrying a sharp message for lawmakers: it’s time to fix Medicare Advantage. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living kicks off its Congressional Briefing on Monday, June 8. Industry leaders say it’s the largest turnout the group has seen in years, a sign that providers know just how much hangs in the balance this summer. Clif Porter, CEO of AHCA/NCAL, told industry sources that the agenda is broad but the priorities are clear. Medicare Advantage reform sits at…
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — The SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania Health and Welfare Plan, the union-trustee fund that covers thousands of nursing home workers across the state, told contributing employers in a May 28 letter that it is in a financial emergency and is dumping its self-insured model in favor of a fully insured Highmark Blue Cross package starting August 1. Employer contribution rates are jumping at the same time, and workers are about to see a benefit package that looks nothing like what they had before. The notice, signed by the plan’s contract administrator, 90 Degree Benefits, did not soften the language.…
Baltimore, Maryland — A portfolio of 18 nursing homes operated by CommuniCare is changing hands in a $500 million deal that ranks as one of the largest eldercare sales in Maryland in the past decade. According to industry reports, the buyer is a group of family trusts led by Jack Shelby, a businessman who already owns nursing homes in Florida and Texas. Ten of the Maryland properties sit in the Greater Baltimore area. The rest are spread across the Washington, D.C. suburbs, Western Maryland, and the state’s Eastern Shore. The Maryland Health Care Commission cleared the transaction back in March.…
Murfreesboro, Tennessee — National Health Investors is signaling it may not be done trimming its skilled nursing portfolio, even after agreeing to a $560 million sale of facilities to one of its existing operating partners. The real estate investment trust said it remains open to additional offers above that pending deal, according to industry reports. The move suggests NHI is still reshaping how much exposure it wants to keep in skilled nursing, a sector that has drawn renewed investor interest but still carries heavy reimbursement and operating risk. NHI said its skilled nursing holdings stood at 65 facilities with 8,565…
Washington, District of Columbia — CMS is rolling out a digital prior authorization push that could reshape how nursing homes move residents through Medicare Advantage and other plan approval bottlenecks, with federal officials projecting the broader effort could save the health system as much as $15 billion over the next decade. The plan centers on faster electronic exchange of prior authorization requests and decisions, a process providers have long argued is too slow, too manual and too easy to weaponize against post-acute care. For nursing homes, that matters most at the point of admission and during transitions in care, when…
Murfreesboro, Arkansas — Arkansas regulators have revoked the license of a small-town nursing home and stripped its administrator of her own credentials, after investigators said she was diverting resident funds into her personal bank account and ignoring abuse-reporting rules. The Office of Long-Term Care, part of the state’s Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance, pulled Sandra Barnett’s administrator license on May 20. Days later, the agency moved to shut down her facility, Murfreesboro Rehab and Nursing, citing what officials described as severe and repeated misconduct. Residents had already been moved out by the time the formal closure notice landed.…
