Sage 2026 State of Care Report Reveals Rising Care Complexity and Sheds Light on the Caregiver Experience

81% of senior living executives say resident acuity has increased, as new Sage research reveals pressure points across staffing, technology and daily care delivery

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage, the first integrated Care Intelligence Platform built for senior living and skilled nursing, today at Sage Shift released The State of Care 2026, a new report examining staffing, technology and daily care delivery across senior living. The report combines a nationwide survey of 510 senior living executives, community leaders and caregivers, with the Sage Care Index, Sage's analysis of operational data from communities using its platform.

The data reveals that the industry is making measurable progress, even as the complexity of care and operations rises. Occupancy rates and margins are a bright spot for many operators, with 58% reporting an improving operating margin over the past two years. At the same time, 84% say running a community has become more complex over the past two years, and 81% report that residents' care needs have increased. Nearly half (44%) describe the industry as somewhat or very unprepared for the expected surge of the aging population.

Care teams often feel the operational pressure first, while leaders may not see the full impact until it appears in turnover, call-offs, or month-end results. Yet, only 19% of executives say they can identify an issue across communities in real time. Additional findings from the report reveal perspectives from leadership and the frontline around burnout, staffing and technology.

• The morning handoff is a bottleneck for response times. Sage Care Index data shows residents with alerts during the morning shift-change window are 60% more likely to wait more than 20 minutes for a response.
• The technology problem is fragmentation, not alert volume. Forty-four percent of community teams cite switching between systems as a frustration, compared with just 12% who cite too many alerts.
• Care teams are open to AI that helps. Sixty-three percent say they are very or cautiously open to AI supporting their work, while only 32% say their current technology generally helps.
• Give caregivers time back, and they will give it to residents. Seven in ten community leaders and caregivers say they would prioritize resident engagement or direct care if they had an extra hour in their day.
• Caregivers and executives report different definitions of burnout: Executives report burnout due to organizational symptoms like increased turnover (64%) and rising call-offs (51%). However, caregivers describe it as personal exhaustion: 56% end their shift mentally exhausted most or every day, and only 12% say they always have enough team members on shift to provide the level of care residents deserve.

"Care teams already know which parts of the day are most challenging and where their time is spent," said Raj Mehra, CEO and co-founder of Sage. "What they have not had is the opportunity to show their leaders those gaps and make the case for change to better support their work. My hope is that operators take these findings to their teams to ask what pulls their time away from residents. Those conversations will tell them more than any dashboard can and help teams build solutions together."

Several of the patterns outlined carry financial impact as well. A preliminary Sage analysis across roughly 130 communities found that those averaging a response time under seven minutes were half as likely to see new residents move out within the first 90 days, compared to communities with an average response time of 12 minutes or more. At an estimated $11,500 cost per early move-out, that gap translates to roughly $23 in cost savings per resident per month.

The Sage State of Care report was unveiled today at Sage Shift, a caregiving summit bringing together caregivers, community leaders and senior living partners to shape the future of senior care through real-world insight and experience. Download the full report at https://www.sagehealth.com/state-of-care.

Methodology
Sage surveyed 510 senior living professionals between July 9 and August 31, 2026, using Alchemer, including 138 executive leaders and 372 community leaders and caregivers. The report also incorporates Sage Care Index analyses of operational data from communities using the Sage platform, including response performance, labor, falls and resident outcomes. Individual analyses use different populations, time periods and methodologies. Survey findings are self-reported, and operational analyses are observational and are not designed to establish causation. The percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number.

About Sage
Sage is the industry's first fully integrated Care Intelligence Platform for senior living and skilled nursing, built by founders who have watched family members navigate a broken care system firsthand. Sage replaces outdated infrastructure with modern software and AI-powered insights, so that aging is defined by dignity, visibility and truly human care. Sage-powered communities have identified a $275 increase in NOI per resident per month, a 50% reduction in falls and faster response times compared to the industry average. For more information, visit www.sagehealth.com.

SOURCE Sage