Name Change

Dear Friends:

This is an exciting and wondrous time on the campus. As you may have noticed, the Code not only has a new cover design, it also has a new format and totally different look. In case you’re wondering why, allow me to explain.

As you may know, we are only a few years away from celebrating the campus’ silver anniversary. Depending on your perspective and age, 25 years can either be a short time or an eternity. But, everyone agrees that the amazing growth that we have experienced during this period has been nothing short of miraculous.

What was once the 120-bed Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center, has been transformed into a 37-acre, multi-faceted continuum of senior services. It became the Morse Seniors Campus. Most recently, it was named the Marilyn & Stanley M. Katz Seniors Campus.

Along the way, there was a feeling that something had been lost in the process. Many of whom we spoke to were confused about what we had become. They wondered whether anybody could recognize us by virtue of all of our various names. In a nutshell, you could say that the original Morse Geriatric Center and all its affiliated entities had been sacrificed by their own successes. As a result, I felt strongly that a real identity challenge was emerging, and that it was hurting our ability to progress in the community.

In our quest to determine the best course of action, the leadership and staff decided to seek out the advice of experts to help us eliminate existing confusion and ambiguity.

As a result, we hired a company out of Boston to investigate our concerns. They conducted interviews, studied our industry and our market, and issued a report that indicated that our identity crisis was not imaginary. They actually confirmed that our biggest asset was the “Morse” name.

Here is what we learned from the study:

Our organization takes great pride in its services and how it delivers them. However, the multitude of affiliated entities and names developed over time may have eroded the identity of Morse Geriatric Center, our flagship institution.
There was some confusion about which entities were included on the campus.
We realized that a compelling parent name would help communicate the concept of a diverse, comprehensive, and holistic organization.
Everyone agreed that “Morse” was the most common single word used in describing the entire organization. After all, it started with “Morse” and “Morse” is what the community still recognizes - with a fantastically positive image. But it was also recognized that “Morse” was generally thought by most of the community to mean the skilled nursing home.

Taking these and other issues into account, it was decided that “Morse” would be among the alternatives considered to describe the entire organization. In addition, given the wide range of home- and community-based services provided by the Lola & Saul Kramer Senior Services Agency, any new name needed to assure that the totality of the organization was conveyed. In addition, it needed to support a perception of the organization as being more than only campus-based. This may become even more important in the future, if we expand from our current campus to other sites in the community and region.

So, in essence we have come full circle. The founding organization, Morse Geriatric Center, which had given birth to and nurtured all its own affiliated organizations, was being most appropriately and lovingly elevated back onto the main stage - where it belonged.

But, it is still important to understand that all our affiliated entities and their names do not change. But, they remain to complement the strong new framework that has just been created. It is my considerable honor to introduce everyone to our new name - MorseLife.

It is so exciting to envision the new path before us, as we will be “Honoring Senior Living” through all of our related agencies in West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, and in each of the service areas we already cover in Palm Beach County. Born from a proud legacy of Jewish tradition, we are confident that MorseLife will pioneer a new era in quality senior services.

With warmest regards,

Arthur S. Loring, President
MorseLife