Pioneer Network, a national organization leading the movement for radical change in the culture of long-term care, is launching the Small House Online Networking Initiative to bring together key stakeholders to explore the idea of community-based “small houses” for older adults.
With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the new initiative aims to enhance communication and shared learning among those interested in the financing and delivery of person-directed long-term care through small houses—an alternative to institutional nursing homes. The virtual meeting place will also provide a forum for providers who currently run small house initiatives to exchange information.
Bonnie Kantor
“The idea that small groups of people can live together and thrive in the least restrictive setting, with appropriate care, is not a new concept,” said Bonnie Kantor, executive director of the Pioneer Network. “It has been successful in a wide range of settings, including group homes for adults with disabilities, adult family homes and congregate settings, and mental health initiatives.
“The application of the small-home concept, however, is a more recent addition in the field of aging, and one that needs consensus support from stakeholders and evidence-based support of its efficiency and cost-benefits in the care of frail older adults.”
THE GREEN HOUSE® Project
PHI has supported such alternatives by developing training for staff who were moving from traditional nursing home environments to Green Houses®.
THE GREEN HOUSE Project was initially developed by Dr. William Thomas, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Erickson School and leader in the elder culture change movement, who writes a blog called Changing Aging.org.
The first Green Houses® opened in Tupelo, Miss., in 2003, to provide seniors of all incomes with more dignity, autonomy, and choice in long-term care. The name stems from the focus on encouraging personal growth among residents. The idea is that Green Houses® cost no more to run than traditional homes because they produce less waste and require less infrastructure.
Future of GREEN HOUSES®
THE GREEN HOUSE Project is now led by NCB Capital Impact, a community development organization. According to their website, their vision for the project is to have homes in every community where elders and others enjoy excellent quality of life and quality of care; where they, their families, and the staff engage in meaningful relationships built on equality, empowerment, and mutual respect; where people want to live and work; and where all are protected, sustained, and nurtured without regard to the ability to pay.
Construction began this year overlooking Boston Harbor in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on America’s first urban Green House®. The Leonard Florence Center for Living, (LFC) under the auspices of Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home, will provide skilled nursing care for 100 residents in a warm, homelike environment. Private rooms and home-cooked meals will replace the institutional feel of a nursing home for elder care and those with ALS and MS.
Starting in January, organizations, advocates and communities interested in starting GREEN HOUSE® Projects will be able to attend one of 15 workshops around the country. For $20, a 20-minute DVD is also available, highlighting the journey of 40 elders who moved from a traditional skilled nursing home into the nation’s first Green House® homes in Tupelo, MS.
I have been providing services for developmentally disabled and elderly for the past 30 years. I came out of the institutions to commnity based living. Without a doubt it is a better way for people to live. I have participated in many diffrent community based programs including independent living, assisted living and group living. I feel strongly that there should be options for poeple based upon their needs and abilities. I think as a socitety we attempt find one solution for everyone, it never has worked for everyone and in my opion never will. We need to focus on individual need and provide for that need, if people can remain at home they should have that opportunity, if they cannot then we need to provide the least restrictive environment as possible. The level of services should be based upon the level of need.
I have the pleasure of working with Jude Rabig director of NASH, in the opening of our household model community. Although the physical design of the facility is more “traditiona”, with her great expertise, we have adopted many of the small house ways, from the self directed work team (household associates) to the flattened organizational structure to the servant leadership principles, staff tries to live by, this is a very long journey that will probably never end.