At our 42nd monthly Age-in-Place Program Roundtable earlier this month we had the pleasure of welcoming Scott Townsley of Trilogy Consulting as our guest speaker. Scott talked at length about the simple topic (but also a very big one) of potential within the Age in Place Program (also known as Continuing Care at Home or CCaH).
Here are just four of the many highlights from that presentation:
WHAT’S IN A NAME? (A LOT!)
People know home care and assisted living and the perception of those services are positive. The perceptions of CCRCs and LPCs are also generally positive. But if you use the word “nursing home,” everybody knows it and almost everybody has a negative view of it. So if the public dislikes nursing homes, and a CCaH membership prevents you from moving into a nursing home, then that’s the message!
THE FORGOTTEN ESSENTIAL NON-CUSTOMER
The term that doesn’t get highlighted often enough is “the essential non-customer.” If the CCaH is to grow, it has to find that customer. It’s somebody who doesn’t show up to the presentation, but they’re open to messaging about CCaH options. They’re the 99.9% who might be attracted but they don’t know yet why.
REASONS TO CELEBRATE
“There are some serious reasons to celebrate Continuing Care at Home and Age in Place programs,” said Scott. “Wellness coordination has been so effective, it’s kept individuals – maybe thousands of individuals – from placement in a nursing home or assisted living.”
CCaH has enabled organizations to be able to serve more broadly at home and not spend countless millions of dollars to serve the same individuals in a building on campus.
CHANGE AND TARGET AUDIENCE
Scott noted that a lot of people within the senior living field were confident that they’d be able to change the image of senior living. But actual change isn’t easy. Scott cited a survey that found that the percentage of people who are very interested in a senior living community is around 6%. The percentage who’s interested in CCaH is closer to 12%. While both audience are relatively small, CCaH has a much bigger audience and a much better chance of getting them interested in an aging in place program.
Visit the Trilogy Consulting website to learn more about Scott and the work that Trilogy does.
