|
|
|
While 2016 was an impressive year with more than 200 homes open and operating in 30 states, we expect to see that momentum continue in 2017! It will be a year where we will see our first
PACE
Green House homes open in Michigan...and the first Green House homes will be opening in Rhode Island, where
Saint Elizabeth Home
broke a 20 year moratorium on new nursing home
beds.
Here's a quick look at how the year is shaping up for Grand Openings and Groundbreaking ceremonies:
Grand Openings:
|
|
An estimated 200 people attended the ceremony November 3rd to officially cut the ribbon on the Sosin Center for Rehabilitation! JGS Lifecare in Longmeadow, MA has been working hard to develop the two Green House homes for short-term rehabilitation which are expected to open in December.
|
|
Washington County Nursing Home
celebrated the grand opening of their four Green House homes on September 13th
. This new development represents a complete replacement for the former county nursing home and was a project that had been on the drawing board for many years.
Nursing Home Administrator Brenda Rhea was most pleased to cut the ribbon on the project, and warmly thanked county residents for their support in helping it come to fruition.
|
|
It was a beautiful day on September 11th
for a special ground blessing at the
Ave Maria Home
where they are building an additional five Green House homes. Over the past three and half years they have been raising funds to build the homes which will cost approximately $10 million.
The new homes will be built on their existing property and across the street from their existing four Green House homes.
|
The energy is always electric when
Green House
adopters are together. "As a national initiative, amazing things happen when so many change-makers are in the same room," shares Senior Director, Susan Ryan, "The opportunity for rich discussion, relationship building and thoughtful questions is irreplaceable."
That was certainly the case as over 250 Green House adopters gathered at The 2016 Green House Annual Meeting-Beyond Better!
|
Right from the start, the self managed work team (called shahbazim) in our Green House home knew they wanted to have a small gift waiting in the bedrooms as the elders moved in - something special and personalized to really make it feel like home. Jane, a shahbaz, recalled that when she and her husband went away for their 40th anniversary the hotel surprised them not only with champagne and chocolates in their room but also a banner hanging in the lobby. "It was unexpected and so touching," she said. That and similar experiences shared by others laid the foundation for a gift bag filled with goodies awaiting residents. A list of personal care items was compiled: shampoo, lotion, toothbrush and paste, shaving gear for the gents, etc. - and the Shahbazim took off on an impromptu shopping trip to Dollar Tree, which was a highlight for Carol during the practicum weeks. "I liked that we worked together to plan the list and then shop," she said.
|
|
|
|
|
Lori Gonzalez is a PhD researcher at the Claude Pepper Center of Florida State University who studies alternatives to traditional nursing care and social inequality. She spoke at The 9th Annual Green House meeting about how she discovered The Green House model, and her passion to spread its message.
"Of those who were surveyed, most frail elders reported that they would choose death over a nursing home." This was one of the first studies that I came across when I started working as a researcher at the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University. As I delved deeper into the research literature regarding quality of care and quality of life in long-term care it became clear why the elders in the survey would say such a thing. Study after study reported resident lack of autonomy, lack of privacy, and lack of dignity. The physical environment in many nursing homes resembles the hospital instead of home. Staff and resident schedules are rigid. Unhappiness and dehumanization abound. Although the problems are well documented in the literature, few solutions are offered.
|
|
