The Green House Project Reinvents Long-Term Eldercare

According to a recent poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, 82 percent of retirees and 78 percent of pre-retirees are very concerned about being in an institutional environment that is not as comfortable as a home. This may come at no surprise, due to the regular reports of elder abuse, negligence and the often depressing connotations tied to aging family members being trapped in these lonely, sterile institutions.

While the number of Americans considering retirement is growing, The Green House Project is shrinking the traditional model of the nursing home in an effort to reinvent the structure of long term elder care.

As Dr. Bill Thomas, Green House Project Founder and Director of Innovation, explains in the project's "Where Love Matters" presentation: "Conventional long term care makes the doctors and nurses the stars of show, in the spotlight all the time. The Green House makes the elders the stars of the show...the doctors and nurses are still there, but they're backstage, where they're supposed to be."

As the much-merited stars of the show, Green House residents enjoy private bedrooms, yards and an open kitchen to encourage socializing rather than constant views of hospital staples (medicine carts, nursing stations and trays delivered to cramped rooms).

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which partners with the project told Forbes, "By altering the facility size, interior design, staffing patterns and service-delivery method, the Green House model provides residents better, safer and more personalized care. As a result, elders are happier and healthier. They have more enjoyment in life, remain independent longer and receive more individual attention from a caregiver each day."

How does this new structure translate fiscally? According to Forbes, the more than 100 Green House homes cost the same amount to operate as traditional nursing homes. However, Green Houses require a large initial capital investment, making it more costly in the long run if they replaced every nursing home in the country. And while rigorous studies on the overall long term benefits of the Green House homes over traditional institutions have yet to surface, those living in the smaller home-like spaces voice content and echo the sentiments of Green House home resident Lela Jasper, who in the view below sums up a running list of benefits with the succinct, "I feel safe here."

WATCH: The Green House Project presents "Where Love Matters"

Comments

[Mary Care]

05:39 PM on 11/07/2011

Making the elders the stars in The Green House Project is about patient-centered care. This philosophy is imperative in every aspect of senior caregiving, from home care to nursing homes. An incredibly important part of The Green House model is that the elderly person is less likely to be isolated than in a nursing home. He or she can form a closer relationship with the shahbaz and other residents. This is important because socialization has incredibly positive impacts on an elderly person’s physical and mental health. I hope to see more Green Houses opening up across the country. For assistance in finding the right senior care options for your family go to http://www.care.com/scc.
Sincerely,
Mary
Care.com

[sharpseniors]

05:59 AM on 11/03/2011

Excellent article and its a way overdue subject matter. The "old folks home" of yesteryear just does not cut it today. We have to find better options than these old fashioned institutions.
Along with communities like The Green House, and the Hebrew Home, we have to start re-thinking the overall design process for these residences and specifically for Alzheimer's patients who need a special type of consideration :http://www.sharpseniors.com/blog/creating-spaces-for-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-patients-trends-in-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-architecture-design/

[GreenHouse Proj]

04:06 PM on 11/02/2011

Regarding the financial viability of The Green House homes compared to traditional nursing homes, the research shows that the operational costs in Green house homes are equal to the median cost for nursing homes nationally and that we serve, on average, 36% Medicaid funded individuals – each with a private room and bath. This Medicaid percentage is climbing as we add new financing tools to the program. Capital costs for Green House homes are at the low-end of new models of nursing home care and our higher average occupancy levels help to pay for the costs of new construction.

For more information about the project, visit www.thegreenhouseproject.org.

[GreenHouse Proj]

04:03 PM on 11/02/2011

As director of The Green House Project I would like to offer some answers to the thoughtful questions that have been posed around the model. These answers are based on the considerable peer-reviewed research conducted on the model to date. If you would like to read more about that research, see http://bit.ly/n5LlxV and http://bit.ly/.

I would like to start with a general comment. The Green House model is designed to give committed nursing home providers and staff, the vast majority of those working in long-term care, a better tool to deliver the quality they aspire to provide. Our old nursing home model has not supported their ambitions. The Green House model’s research shows what they can accomplish with a better tool.

The Green House model can care for the same level of needs as traditional nursing homes and with the same quality outcomes. The model is designed to care for people with the highest level of clinical, personal, and cognitive needs. The research shows that we do. The research also shows better clinical outcomes in Green House homes.

For more information about the project, visit www.thegreenhouseproject.org.
-- Robert Jenkens, Director