Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) has expanded its hospice operations with a new location in Sacramento, Calif., the company’s third de novo of 2019.
The Sacramento location is Brookdale’s third de novo this year, with previous agencies opening in Detroit and Portland, Ore. The company now operates 22 locations nationwide. Patients do not have to be residents of Brookdale’s facilities in order to receive hospice care.
“As a result of Brookdale’s scale, we are in the unique position to touch thousands of resident and family lives across the country,” said Diana Artache, director of Brookdale Hospice of Sacramento. “In planning for this opening, we have been working to build an exceptional team capable of delivering Brookdale’s high standard of compassionate care. We understand the profound magnitude of tending to patients and families during perhaps the most vulnerable and delicate times of their lives, and as we enter Sacramento, we are committed to being a tireless resource to those we serve.”
In addition to its hospice holdings, Brookdale’s Sacramento footprint includes five senior living locations across the area providing independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing.
Brookdale’s de nove activity has raised its hospice segment’s average daily census to 1,600, up from 1,400 as of July 2018. Average daily census for Brookdale’s hospice operations has risen steadily for the past year. Their patient census rose 15.2% between second quarter 2018 and second quarter 2019.
Hospice accounted for much of the growth in the company’s Health Care Services segment during the second quarter of 2019, outstripping quarterly percentage gains for its home health and outpatient therapy service lines. Hospice revenues at Brookdale Senior Living were up nearly 18% in the second quarter largely due to same-store admissions growth and de novo activity, the company reported in an earnings conference call.
Brookdale’s hospice revenues exceeded $23.1 million for the second quarter, up from nearly $19.7 million in second quarter 2018 and $21.7 million in first quarter 2019.
“We have a resident base that needs this service,” Brookdale CEO Lucinda Baier said at the RBC Capital Markets 2019 Healthcare Conference in May. “So by building an agency you are providing a needed service for residents, and you are providing a great cash flow stream that has a very low capital requirement and a very nice margin. You will continue to see us grow our hospice business.”
Companies featured in this article:
