Long term care where elders continue to live and grow

THE GREEN HOUSE approach is a radically new, non-institutional model that reinvents the experience of long-term care for elders—restoring individuals to a home in the community. Elders receive needed assistance and care in small homes that meet all required state and federal regulator and reimbursement criteria for licensure as skilled nursing facilities. It combines small homes with the full range of personal care and clinical services expected in high-quality nursing homes. To achieve these goals, the model changes the philosophy of care, staffing assumptions, organizational configuration, and architecture.

The Green House home is a self-contained residence, designed like a private home, housing 7-12 elders, each with his/her own bedroom and full bathroom. The physical space is not meant to be “homelike,” but to be a home.

Within the general structure, many variations are possible. The home can vary in size, physical design, amenities, and operational structure. Some houses may be built on a long-term care campus; others may be in a residential community. The sponsoring organization may plan to replace an existing facility or develop a new project. The sponsoring organization supplies or arranges the delivery of health care to the elders in a Green House home, organizing and/or managing the personnel, fiscal, and administrative functions.