We Changed our Name from Remember When Homecare to HealthCare — Here’s Why It Matters
- jenna624
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
Jenna Fralick, BScN RN
What’s in a Name? Everything.
When we first launched Remember When Homecare, our goal was simple: to provide compassionate, in-home support to seniors across Nova Scotia. But over time, we realized that "homecare" didn't fully reflect what we truly offer—or who we truly serve.
Families were calling us burned out, overwhelmed, and lost in a system that doesn’t feel built for them. They needed more than homecare. They needed education, stress relief, and personalized healthcare solutions. And increasingly, our clients weren’t just seniors—they were also differently abled adults, individuals recovering from surgery, and families navigating complex health journeys like dementia care.
So we made a change. We became Remember When HealthCare.
Not just because it sounds more professional—but because it represents who we are today: a trusted partner, not just a service provider.
Our Evolution: From Basic Care to Comprehensive HealthCare
In the early days, our work focused primarily on supporting seniors with daily living tasks—light housekeeping, meal prep, personal hygiene, and companionship. But soon, we began getting referrals from families facing much deeper struggles.
We met:
A daughter whose father with Alzheimer’s wandered from home twice.
A mom trying to care for her adult son with autism while also holding down a job.
A 63-year-old woman recovering from heart surgery who needed short-term help with mobility and dementia care for her husband.
We realized the word homecare wasn’t enough. It implied surface-level help. But our team—made up of nurses, home support workers, CCA's, foot care nurses, scheduling coordinators—was providing something deeper: relief. Reassurance. Real solutions.
That’s when we knew: it was time to grow our name with our mission.
Why the Name Change Matters
If you’re supporting someone with complex health concerns, you know it’s more than just helping with errands. It’s managing behaviors. It’s understanding triggers. It’s navigating loss, grief, and long-term uncertainty, palliative care, nursing care, hospital to home and EVERYTHING in between.
Changing our name helped families see the full scope of what we do. Not just practical tasks, but education, emotional support, and care navigation.
We Serve More Than Seniors: Disabilities, Recovery, and More
One of the biggest misconceptions people had was that we only helped seniors.
That’s simply not true.
At RWHC, we support:
Differently abled adults needing mobility support or daily living assistance
Post-surgery patients recovering from procedures like hip replacements or open-heart surgery
Caregivers of all ages, including parents of children with complex needs
Seniors with dementia who need round-the-clock structure and memory care
By expanding from “homecare” to “HealthCare,” we made room in our name—and our reputation—for everyone who needs us.
Research shows that persons living with disabilities are more likely to experience service gaps in homecare and healthcare navigation (Boyce, 2021). By explicitly including HealthCare in our name, we’re doubling down on our commitment to serve everyone—not just the people who “fit the box.”
The shift to HealthCare sends a message: You’re not alone. And you’re not expected to be everything. It's comprehensive!
It’s Not Just About Us—It’s About Building a Better System
Changing our name was a message to the broader healthcare system: homecare is healthcare.
Families are tired of being bounced between hospitals, doctors, and case managers. They want one team who understands their goals, their emotions, and their story.
We’ve stepped in when:
A dementia patient was discharged without a safety plan
A mom was told to "figure it out" after her son's hospital stay
An elderly couple was too afraid to ask for help because they thought “we couldn’t afford it”
Our name now reflects our advocacy. Our voice. Our belief that home should be where the best care happens.
References
Alzheimer Society of Canada. (2022). Dementia numbers in Canada. https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/what-dementia/dementia-numbers-canada
Boyce, W. (2021). Barriers to home care for persons with disabilities in Canada: A literature review. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 10(2), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v10i2.720
Cations, M., Radisic, G., Crotty, M., & Laver, K. E. (2018). What does the general public understand about dementia and how does that affect their caregiving? BMC Geriatrics, 18(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-018-0824-0
Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2022). Unpaid caregiver distress. https://www.cihi.ca/en/infographic-unpaid-caregivers-distress
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