Skilled nursing occupancy stable pre-COVID-19

Skilled nursing occupancy in the United States remained stable in the fourth quarter of 2019 at 83.8 percent, up from 83.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the latest National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Skilled Nursing Data Report. NIC experts said these data offer a baseline for the first quarter of 2020, when effects of the flu season and COVID-19 outbreak will begin to become visible.   

 “Skilled nursing occupancy before the COVID-19 outbreak was stable,” said Bill Kaufman, senior principal at NIC. “At the end of last year, the outlook for skilled nursing was healthier than a year ago. While we do not yet know how COVID-19 will impact facility occupancy in 2020, we began the year from a position of rel