The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is investing fifteen-million dollars into a creative alternative to nursing homes. Green Houses aim to replace large nursing homes with small, homelike facilitates for ten to twelve residents. There are presently forty-one Green Houses in ten states; the goal is to have them in all fifty states.
Jane Lowe, from the foundation, states, “[w]e want to transform a broken system of care.” The goal of the Green Houses is to provide the seniors with a better quality of life and medical treatment. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are resisting these facilities due to the perceived costs associated with them. In reality, as the foundation studies the financial sustainability of the facilities, early indications show they are financially doable.
The Green Houses themselves are filled with residents that require nursing home care. The residents have private rooms and bathrooms, a residential-style kitchen, a communal dining area, and accessible outdoor space. The aspects of an institutional facility like medication carts, public address systems, and nurses’ stations are no where in sight. The overall feel is that of being home; even the dinning room table is big enough for all the residents and their families to eat together!
As far as overall quality of life is concerned - the residents reported: physical comfort, privacy, dignity, autonomy, ability to enjoy food, spiritual well-being, security, individuality, functional competence, relationships, and the ability to engage in meaningful activities. All of these are very positive results of living in these Green House facilities. I hope that more of these facilities continue to pop-up around the country.
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**Also for a 2 minute video on this topic click here.