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Diversified Senior Services Opens 2nd Assisted Living Facility in Two Months. Location in Small Underserved Southeastern Community is Cited as One of The Major Reasons For Facility's Rapid Rate of Occupancy
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Diversified Senior Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISS), a senior living and assisted living company, today announced the opening of an assisted living facility with 60 private rooms in Mocksville, North Carolina, the second 60-door, 60 resident assisted living facility the company has opened in North Carolina in the past two months.
According to William G. Benton, Diversified chief executive officer, "10 residents moved in during opening week and, including those, we had reservations and applications adding up to 50 per cent of the rooms, leading us to believe we would be fully occupied well within a year, perhaps as soon as within six months."
He described this occupancy rate as "highly unusual in the industry, and certainly well ahead of industry standards."
Benton attributed this high rate of occupancy to the fact that competition is almost non-existent in a small town like Mocksville. "We had virtually the same experience," he noted, "with Somerset Court of Hamlet, the 60-door AL facility we recently opened in Hamlet, North Carolina."
Diversified's philosophy, he said, is to develop properties for low to middle income residents in relatively small southeastern communities where there is little if any competition but where the need is significant
"Our social view is that by developing assisted living facilities in small underserved communities, the residents can be close to their families and friends and see them everyday if they choose. Our business view is that it makes good economic sense since we don't have to struggle against competition and our residents will remain loyal to us if we do our job well."
As in Hamlet, the rooms in Mocksville rent for $1,500 a month, well below the $2,000 or more a month charged by many facilities for private rooms, and include three meals and a variety of snacks a day, and staff to provide medication monitoring, housekeeping and linen service. Some of the features of each room include individually controlled heating and air conditioning, cable television, in-room hospitality-type telephone service and a state-of- the-art emergency call system.
Diversified has three additional 60-door facilities in various stages of construction. Two 30-door facilities, devoted exclusively to independent living, also are under construction. SOURCE Diversified Senior Services, Inc.
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/CONTACT: Bill Benton, CEO, or Jody Ragan, Investor Relations, of Diversified Senior Services, Inc., 336-724-1000, or Paul Keil of ACC Communications LLC, 805-693-8947, for Diversified Senior Services, Inc./ -- CHTH001 -- 6165 08/05/99 08:31 EDT prnewswire.com Copyright PR Newswire 1998. All rights reserved. |
