Strong fourth-quarter 2023 results capped off a year of persistent progress and steady growth for the Pennant Group, according to CEO Brent Guerisoli, who on Thursday said the company delivered on its commitments in 2023.
During a fourth-quarter earnings call, Guerisoli said that the Eagle, ID-based holding company saw total revenue increase 15.1% over 2022 and 17.1% over the fourth quarter 2022.
In its senior living segment, revenue increased 14.8% over the prior year and 14.8% over the prior year quarter. Those increases were driven by a fourth-quarter occupancy rate of 79%, a 130-basis point increase over the prior year quarter and a new post-pandemic high, according to President and Chief Operating Officer John Gochnour.
“By executing on our five key focus areas — leadership development, clinical excellence, employee engagement, margin improvement and growth — we made steady gains throughout 2023 and solidly delivered on earnings expectations,” Guerisoli said.
Highlighting its progress in leadership development, Guerisoli said the company added more than 50 CEOs-in-training in 2023, and 38 local leaders earned C-level designations in their operations, including 11 local CEOs. He called those new leaders the “foundation of our success moving forward.”
“CEOs earn this designation by acting as true owners in creating significant financial, clinical and cultural value,” Guerisoli said, adding that Pennant Group found that CEOs generate $1 million more in earrings than non-CEO directors, as well as better clinical and cultural outcomes in their communities.
Based on the success of its CEO in training program, Pennant is making a similar investment in its clinical leaders to create chief clinical, therapy and wellness officers in its local operations, Guerisoli said. The company has enhanced its clinical onboarding, training and development programs in 2023, promoting 16 clinical leaders to C-level status, he said.
Pennant also has made strides in employee engagement and recruiting, improving its turnover rate by double digits last year, leaders told analysts. With additional hires in the first two months of 2024, Pennant’s communities have surpassed a collective 6,000 employees, a double-digit increase over year-end 2022.
With momentum in its senior living and home health/hospice segments, Guerisoli said, there is latent potential in its existing operations, and he said he looks forward to another year of “strong performance and growth.”
