Baby Boomers continue to revolutionize long-term care

Here’s the lowdown on the newly dubbed ‘Life Plan Community’

LeadingAge, a respected steward for the age-related healthcare field, has been hard at work reconsidering the old Continuing Care Retirement Community category. To start, the rate of CCRC market acceptance has been particularly sluggish in recent years. Hoping to boost enrollment, engagement and general satisfaction among Baby Boomers, the task force spearheaded a widespread namestorming project, aſter careful deliberation arriving at the new Life Plan Community moniker. The hashtag has been circulating across social media in recent months.

So, is it all semantics, or are #LifePlanCommunities part of a more profound shiſt in the long-term care arena? Advocates at LeadingAge defend their re-categorization by citing the unique generation of adults who will be seeking care in the coming decade. Their explanation is simple: “They’re changing the game. We’re changing the name.”

 

 

Fresh message. Same familiar services.

LeadingAge spokespeople remind facilities that their state contracts may continue to require CCRC terminology. Still, operators are encouraged to embrace the full ‘Life Plan Community’ name in their marketing and other communications in order to spread the word and give meaning to the category’s recent makeover.

They also remind us that other than our renewed attention to residents’ changing mindsets, it’s pretty much business as usual. “To meet the needs of this generation, senior living communities have transformed from care providers into vibrant villages offering a range of residential options, along with new opportunities for creative, educational and personal exploration,” says LeadingAge.

“Clearly, the name Continuing Care Retirement Community no longer describes the contemporary senior living community, which is really a Life Plan Community.” As always, facilities must meet certain NIC requirements in order to qualify for the LPC designation. In addition to offering a combination of independent, assisted and skilled nursing services, the community must:

• Be age restricted with various payment programs
• Offer multiple levels of care on a single campus
• Have a strong focus on active lifestyle
• Be integrated into the greater local community
• Put a clear emphasis on social responsibility

This past year, a study by Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging sought to confirm what many industry experts predict: Life Plan Communities support residents’ overall health and wellness in quantifiable ways. Details of the research will be published in January, but an early glimpse at their findings is explored in a recent article form McKnight’s LTC.