There’s a wisecrack around getting someone’s name best that ends with, “Call me everything you want, however just don’t contact me late for dinner.” to be it only such a light issue for some earnest seniors housing and care providers and their marketing people.

You are watching: Don t call me late for dinner

They desire to be regarded in a kinder, gentler light and have make labeling legal rights serious business.


So major it’s come down to forging a nationwide campaign. The mission: replace the unwieldy “continuing care retirement community” with the less clinical “life arrangement community.”


When the “news” of the alternate name proposal was an initial released come the press in October, it come a few days before the crowds at the LeadingAge annual meeting would hear it. And it came to the push “embargoed” — in various other words, limited from public dissemination. There’s nothing like labeling other forbidden to make it seem all the more desirable.

The name was officially announced and supported by LeadingAge, provider partner Mather Lifeways and four marketing firms.

Panels, surveys, emphasis groups with seniors and their family members were all claimed to point to something various other than “CCRC.” and why not? cable it the end — which friend invariably have to do because that the uninitiated — and also that’s 12 syllables that describe, well, a location for needy people.

An actuary is attributed with birthing “continuing care retirement community” in the 1980s. It sound descriptive and fair enough at the time. But, as its detractors currently claim, the never caught on, at the very least not through the target demographic.

Naming choices have readjusted in the occurring three decades. Display me a caregiver the puts “nursing home” in its new name and I’ll buy friend a smoothie with genuine fruit. Look around, and also you’ll notification that medical-oriented and even “caring” principles are ~ above the outs — especially if you’re stuck trying to sell people on a ide that is invariably quite expensive. Girlfriend still have to involved grips with the truth that a large price tag is going come impede would-be buyers a lot much more than a facility name.

But why no take away the needy stigma and trade down to six syllables? (Though we were warned the it’s woe come the human being who tries come truncate “life arrangement communities” to “LPC.”)

Hey, if it operated for the association that pared its own name indigenous 19 syllables down to 3 — 3! — why not? Well, since you request …

When the American combination of Homes and also Services because that the Aging slipped into “LeadingAge” setting a couple of short year ago, over there were some initial bump in the road and also re-explaining required for a while. Yet the key is the team owned its very own name and could basically compel world to usage it, or otherwise ignore them if they therefore chose.

Then there’s always that 3 syllables vs. 19 rate thing. Nobody cheered louder than journalists once the headline-impossible American combination of Homes and also Services because that the Aging (pant-pant) was jettisoned.

The trick through “life arrangement community” (and, no, it shouldn’t it is in capitalized for generic use) is that it is a group of housing. That means others — specifically regulators — have to be willing to embrace it.

These at an early stage days, months and possibly year of trying the end LPC, er, life plan community will be concerned ones. It’s comparable to city hall a toddler take his very first steps: He could start to run at any moment, or fall on his face.

Providers have actually to embrace the label and then, most importantly, the investment community and also government need to agree to use them.

Without the latter, because that example, you would still have actually nursing house “industry” being offered by officials instead of “profession” or one more provider-preferred euphemism. What? that is what’s tho happening? Ooops, right.

But it’s nothing personal. There is a sense that if the hospital lobby want to change its photo of churning sick world in and also out and also rename itself “wellness houses” or “well-being communities,” there can be a couple of arched eyebrows together well.

Word top top the street is some providers greeted the news through “meh.” beyond concerns around having come create brand-new stationery or facility signage, I likewise heard unsparing vitriol in part corners, and also mere disdain in others. Plainly there room hearts and heads in ~ the long-term treatment family still to be won over.

Time will be essential to tell whereby this project ends up. Yet if you’re going to mountain a popularity contest, you could do worse than to have actually top marketing firms leading the way. The revolutionaries have that in their favor.

And the is a vital question. Will this wind up favor the American Revolution? A tiny known reality is the in early american America, simply one-third the the population was in favor of the Adams, Washington and Hancock gang, while another 3rd remained stout loyalists come King George III, and the remaining 3rd were ambivalent, no taking either side.

The energy and also righteousness that those change-agents brought the work in the late 1700s. Their insurrection ultimately overrode the main government.

See more: How To Remove Stuck Spark Plug Boot S On A Bmw Or Mini, How To Remove Stuck Spark Plug Boot

Whether the will occur again can come down to merely whether anyone cares enough to defend the standing quo. My bet is if battle wages lengthy enough, the answer will certainly be no, and change will come.