Pharmacy is an Established Senior Living Service Line Diversification Option

As senior living operations develop growth strategies to help recover from the pandemic, a recent report commissioned by AHCA and produced by CliftonLarsonAllen revealed that skilled nursing finances are “much worse” than previously thought. The report highlights that the cost of care and other operations in nursing homes is far exceeding their reimbursement rates, resulting in a projected 4.8% negative margin.

A strategy that has received increasing attention is implementing service line diversification options. identified One of the possible traditional and emerging alternate service lines and revenue streams is pharmacy as has been identified in a report by specialty investment bank Ziegler.

The inclusion of pharmacy comes with the warning that it is “not an easy business line to master, but the pharmacy line of business can develop into a service for operators’ own communities. It also can evolve into a platform serving other communities.”

AMI’s recently published Pharmacy in LTC 2022 report identifies a number of senior living operators that have established pharmacy as one of their supporting businesses. A sample of these senior living operators include:

• Trilogy Health Services, a subsidiary of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III Inc., offers a variety of senior living options as well as its ancillary services subsidiary Synchrony Health Services. Synchrony includes Synchrony Pharmacy, Synchrony Rehabilitation, Synchrony Wellness Pharmacy and Synchrony Lab under its umbrella. Synchrony Health Services was created during 2019 to capture clinical excellence obtained through collaboration and coordination of care between Trilogy owned pharmacy, therapy, and other clinical services.
• PruittHealth, which recently reported a $260 million revenue decrease since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, provides a seamless network of post-acute care services and resources, offering skilled nursing care, home health care, end-of-life hospice care, therapy services, as well as pharmacy and infusion services across the Southeast. PruittHealth has experienced a 19% increase in demand for its home health services since March 2020.
• National HealthCare Corporation (NHC) currently operates 75 skilled nursing centers, 24 assisted living communities, a behavioral health hospital, five retirement communities, 34 home care agencies and 28 hospice agencies. Other services include Alzheimer’s and memory care, four regional pharmacy locations, behavioral health, rehabilitation services and management and accounting services to third parties.
• UPMC Senior Communities serve 2,900 western Pennsylvania seniors as well as operating a subsidiary, Rx Partners, which is a leading provider of pharmacy services to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Rx Partners, Inc., a unit of Diversified Services, has four long-term care pharmacy locations
• American Health Partners is a family of seven  divisions that serve nearly 12,000 individuals annually across multiple states. AmPharm, American Health Partners’ pharmacy, uses thorough quality control, advanced technology and skilled professional supervision to ensure each prescription is accurate, private and delivered on time.
• Christian Horizons has become one of the nation’s largest faith-based, not-for-profit senior living providers—with 11 communities across four states— and includes GracePoint Short-Term Rehab, Safe Haven Hospice, CareLink Home Care and Senior Care Pharmacy Services (SPCS). SPCS offers a partner with years of experience providing exceptional pharmaceutical services to long-term skilled nursing care and assisted living communities.

 Takeaway: Numerous senior living operators offer service line diversification, including pharmacy to support residents