LaVie Care Centers, which operates 43 skilled nursing facilities across five states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday.
The Atlanta-based company listed between $500 million and $1 billion in assets and between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities in its filing made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Georgia.
Related: Financial strain on nursing homes sparks buying binge
LaVie listed between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors in the filing. Philadelphia-based Powerback Rehabilitation; Hunt Valley, Maryland-based Omega Healthcare Investors; and Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based Healthcare Services Group were listed as the company's top unsecured creditors.
LaVie said in a news release it will continue operating the 43 facilities with cash on hand and with $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing from key stakeholders following court approval. The stakeholders include Omega Healthcare Investors, which owns 30 LaVie properties.
Omega said in a news release cash flow generated by the LaVie portfolio should support long-term annualized rent of $36 million and clinical operations at the facilities while it restructures. LaVie will pay Omega monthly rent of $3 million related to the 30 properties, subject to court approval, according to the release.
LaVie in the news release cited financial problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and “looming challenges” faced by the industry, which likely include rising labor costs and a federal staffing mandate.
Some of LaVie's facilities are operated under the name Consulate Health Care. Since June 3, 2023, LaVie has had ownership interest in nearly 70 facilities in addition to the 43 it operates, according to documents from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Nursing home sales are often not reported immediately to CMS.
Bankruptcies slowed for the senior care sector in the first quarter of 2024 after an active year of Chapter 11 filings in 2023, according to Gibbons Advisors, which tracks bankruptcies for the healthcare industry. The senior care industry tallied three bankruptcy filings in the first quarter, compared with five in the year-ago period.
Peoria, Illinois-based Petersen Healthcare, which operates 62 nursing homes in Illinois and Missouri, filed for bankruptcy in March.
