| Wall Street wants to be Grandma's landlord
Not the memory-lapse kind. Rather, the kind where big investors go wild over senior housing, pumping billions into buying and expanding companies that house and care for aging Americans. Nobody's forgotten how the sector was swamped with bankruptcies after the last wave of Wall Street overinvestment, in the late 1990s. Or have they? "It was irresponsible growth because Wall Street was pushing them to grow," recalls Dan Madsen, president and CEO of Seattle-based and privately held Leisure Care, which runs 40 senior communities. "They were just popping (new projects) out like 7-Elevens." As before, Pacific Northwest companies are in the thick of the recent investment action. The granddaddy of deals was quietly unveiled right before Christmas when hard-charging hedge fund Fortress Investments agreed to pay an estimated $6 billion for one of the nation's largest operators of senior housing projects, Holiday Retirement of Salem, Ore.
Clifton Park Expert Reports One-Third of Long-Term Care Insurance ...
CLIFTON PARK, NY -- (02/08/2007; 1100)(EIS) -- Eight million Americans now own the protection afforded by long-term care insurance according to Philip C. Gallant, CLTC, CSA, Senior Vice President of New York Long-Term Care Brokers, Ltd. While most people associate long-term care insurance with nursing homes, a just-published study reveals the bulk of benefit dollars actually pay for home care or assisted living. The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance found that more than $3.3 billion in benefit payments was paid out to individuals during 2006 -- the highest annual payout. The Association data reveals how those monies were allocated. They learned that one-third (33.91%) of the long-term care benefit payments were allocated for home care, almost 30 percent (29.63%) of payments went for assisted living costs while the balance (36.46%) was allocated for nursing home care.
Uproar over plans for homes
CAMPAIGNERS are preparing to fight a developer's plans to knock down five houses to make way for 49 sheltered apartments. They fear a potential influx of 80 to 90 elderly people will change the balance of the community. The developer, Churchill Retirement Living, based in Ringwood, Hampshire, plans to demolish five properties at numbers 1,3,5, and 9 Cross Road, Tadworth, to make way for the development. But an action group called Save Tadworth Action Group (STAG), has been formed by residents and shopkeepers to stop the sheltered homes scheme. One of their arguments is that there is a lack of affordable homes in Tadworth. .
East Tenn. woman has birthday dinner with family at age 111
The lady of the hour at one of Knoxville's finer restaurants was dining with her family at Regas and laughing about having another birthday. Marion Haseloff Stoutt has had quite a few. The one on January 31 was her 111th. She lived alone until she was past 100. Now, Stoutt lives at an assisted living center in Maryville and is believed to be Tennessee's oldest resident. Asked for tips on longevity, Stoutt said she never smoked or drank, but she did have a stressful job on Wall Street. She advises to be careful about what you eat and what you do. For the record, she doesn't feel 111. Asked about it, Stoutt laughed that she might feel, oh, about 105. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
Construction to begin on Providence Point
Construction begins this week on Providence Point -- a future continuing care retirement community in Scott Township. Baptist Homes of Western Pennsylvania will begin demolition at the Old Kane Hospital site tomorrow (Feb. 1). Scott board of commissioners previously approved finalized plans for the project last October contingent upon developer's agreement conditions. Those conditions have been met and officials approved the final land development plan last week. Todd Swortzel, president and CEO of Baptist Homes, confirms the living facility's estimated price tag is in the $100 million ballpark. Providence Point will have 216 independent living apartments and 36 freestanding, single-family homes. In addition to independent living, the community will have a continuum of health services, assisted living, skilled nursing and dementia care.
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