Occupancy in Senior Housing Hits 15-Year Low on Pandemic Fears
- Families bring loved ones home, centers restrict new residents
- ‘Difficult choice’ made harder as virus targets older Americas
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Occupancy in senior housing has hit a 15-year low with families bringing loved ones home, and some centers either limiting new residents or being unable to attract them given the threat to older Americans from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2008, the number of assisted living facilities and independent living centers have seen unrelenting growth, jumping 33% to more than 8,000 nationally. But Covid-19 has added a puzzling new twist for the industry and consumers. Occupancy slid 2.8 percentage points to 84.9% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly drop and the lowest rate since the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care began tracking the data in 2005.