An East Hanover, New Jersey resident, Konstantin “Stan” Belenky, MAI, CTA has served as a chief appraiser at Pyramid Consulting Group, LLC since 2002. Highly skilled and experienced in NJ appraisals, Stan Belenky performs appraisals for various properties as well as skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.
Senior care facilities have emerged as one of the growth sectors in the senior housing and health care market since the late 1980s and are designed to provide a level of care that is between independent living and skilled nursing.
State regulations vary considerably for this level of care, ranging from states that have no regulations to states with CON (certificate of need) regulations. A number of states, including New Jersey, now have Medicaid reimbursement for stays at these types of facilities.
The New Jersey Department of Health regulates senior care facilities. A facility must be licensed by the State of New Jersey. In addition to state licensure, a new facility must obtain a CON prior to development. The purpose of licensure is to ensure that these facilities and programs are built and operated in accordance with rules that aim to ensure that residents receive supportive health and social services as they are needed. This enables them to maintain their independence, individuality, privacy, and dignity in an apartment-style living unit or a living unit in publicly subsidized housing.
SNF is a unique type of healthcare facility that was previously known as a nursing home. Stays at SNF facilities are akin to a hospital stay for individuals requiring significant ongoing medical care. SNF generally serve the senior community in need of ongoing medical treatment or frequent therapy sessions from an RN.
Common examples of other types of senior living include Independent Living (IL) and Assisted Living (AL) facilities, both of which differ significantly from SNF. The primary difference between the categories of senior housing is the quality and degree of services provided. Where SNF provide ongoing medical services to its patients, residents of IL and AL facilities often only have access to onsite nursing and doctor offices, but residents do not receive ongoing treatments or care. Instead, these IL and AL facilities offer opportunities for assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs, e.g. bathing, mealpreparation, etc.). In fact, residents are precluded from receiving healthcare treatment on an ongoing basis at these facilities.
There are also significantly different revenue models between types of senior housing facilities because of their different uses and services. Although SNF historically differed little by way of margins versus IL and AL facilities, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the nature of the healthcare payment systems has changed dramatically.
