Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Abstract

The senior living industry, through a key trade organization, LeadingAge, (formerly American Association of Homes & Services for Aging or AAHSA), recently organized a national rebranding for "Continuing Care Retirement Communities." In 2015, promoters announced "Life Plan Communities" (LPCs) as the choice for a better brand identity. Larry Minnix, the long-time CEO for LeadingAge, observed that a label such as continuing care retirement community is no longer an adequate image, explaining that the name "Life Plan Community" better represents a setting that encourages growth and new experiences, rather than an environment where residents are merely the subject of care.

This article tracks developments in the industry, especially those with financial and legal implications for Pennsylvania operations. This article updates Professor Pearson's PBA Quarterly articles on CCRCs published in 2011 and 2006. The title of the 2011 article posed a slightly provocative question: Will Continuing Care Retirement Communities Continue? It was an allusion to the financial crisis of 2008-2010 that hit the CCRC market hard.

The good news is the industry in question has survived a global financial crisis, even as it implements a brand identity change and significant new accounting rules. In Pennsylvania, entities continue to be licensed as Continuing Care Retirement Communities, and therefore this article will use that name or the acronym "CCRCs."

Publication Title

Pa. B. Ass'n Q.

Share

COinS