When one of the biggest owners of Pennsylvania nursing homes, Welltower Inc., announced this month that new companies would take over the day-to-day management at 147 nursing homes in 15 states, it was no great surprise. The nonprofit ProMedica Senior Care, the current operator of the Welltower nursing homes, including 38 in Pennsylvania and seven in New Jersey, has lost massive amounts of money in the last two years, including $316 million in the first nine months of 2022. What’s puzzling to advocates for the elderly and others who closely watch the nursing home industry is that the company Welltower is bringing in to facilitate the shift to new operators is unknown in the world of nursing homes, even to industry veterans.
