SIDNEY — Dorothy Love Retirement Community has a new name: Ohio Living Dorothy Love.

“This is an exciting time for our entire organization as a whole,” said Tricia Atwood, Ohio Living Dorothy Love executive director. “This is not a change in ownership nor a merger. We will be honoring our 95-year history. This rebranding is a commitment to the our community and our residents.

Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services, the largest and not-for-profit provider of life plan communities (formerly called continuing care retirement communities – CCRCs) and services in Ohio, changed its name to Ohio Living effective Friday, Oct. 28. Dorothy Love is one of the retirement communities operated by Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services. All of the retirement communities will now be branded with Ohio Living before its name.

Senior Independence, the organization’s home health and hospice provider, will be known as Ohio Living Home Health & Hospice, and their charitable foundation will be Ohio Living Foundation.

“We selected Ohio Living because it embodies the essence of who we are as an organization – a community of people who celebrate living,” said Ohio Living CEO Laurence C. Gumina. “We believe this new brand is an expression of our organizational values and speaks to the principles of who we are and the care and support we provide to the more than 73,000 adults and to our 3,200+ employees throughout the state of Ohio. Our people, mission and ownership will remain the same, while our new name positions us to meet the needs of today’s and future generations.”

To maximize the alignment opportunities of the new brand, each of the organization’s 12 life plan communities will have Ohio Living in front of the existing community name and remove references to “retirement” or “communities” from their names.

This name change was not the result of a merger, acquisition or change in ownership, officials said. Rather, it was the result of a thoughtful process that sought to honor the company’s nearly 95-year history while remaining relevant to current generations and those well into the future.

The company will honor its faith-based heritage and culture with the new tagline − Faith, Compassion and Community.

“We are looking toward future generations who we will serving,” said Atwood. “We will remain true to our mission and we will remain true to our values.

“As healthcare changes so we will,” she said. “We will continue to have that presence in the state of Ohio. There are 11 other communities in Ohio and we are connected as a whole, not a single community.

“We are not going to lose our own identity,” she said. “We have our own heritage. Dorothy Love has been here for 90 years and our history is important to us.”

Atwood said the rebranding process is overwhelming.

“This is a huge process,” said Atwood. “From the everyday paperwork we use, to the fax cover sheets to our name badges. They all have to be changed. We want to get our new name out and get our new brand out.”

The impact of the new brand is being felt by everyone at the facility.

“We have 15 signs on our 88 acre campus that will have to be changed,” said Atwood. “The monument signs have been changed but I think it will be a two year process to change everything, which also includes all the street signs.”

The marketing office, said Atwood, became creative in getting staff and residents to turn in items with Dorothy Love Retirement Community on it. If the items were turned in, the person was entered into a drawing for prizes.

“We held an internal launch on Oct. 10,” said Atwood. “We let everyone know that they could treasure the things that said Dorothy Love Retirement Community on it, but after Oct. 28, we wouldn’t be wearing them. We had giveaways for the employees and residents and they received things with the new name on it.”

Atwood said she is excited about what the rebranding will mean to the residents and employees.

“This is going to take us into the future,” said Atwood. “This is not the first time we’ve had a brand change. I think this shows that the company is progressive and is continually moving forward.”

To learn more, visit the new website at ohioliving.org.