The Name Game

In the last couple of days, two big players in the seniors housing industry announced name changes. First, Thomas DeRosa, CEO of Health Care REIT, announced in a letter to employees that the REIT would be renamed Welltower. Despite this change, the company will still trade under its ticker symbol “HCN” on the New York Stock Exchange. And then following this announcement, the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) unveiled its new name, Argentum. Derived from the Latin for “silver,” the new brand will reflect the organization’s expanded focus on “expanding senior living” for the “silver generation.” While Health Care REIT’s announcement seems to have come out of left field, the ALFA board had been public with its desire to change its name for quite some time.