By Cissy Dillon
The Sheridan Press
Opinion
February 8, 2010

To everyone who has a friend or family member who needs or may need elder care:

I first learned of about the Green House concept for elder care about eight years ago when my friend, Hank Songer, asked me to watch a video with her.  The video showed how the Green House model differs from traditional elder care, and it was heartwarming.

While the traditional nursing home model has worked, it is less than optimal in many cases.

A few key points:

• The core difference between a traditional nursing home where the focus is on tasks is that the focus is on building relationships with people in a Green House.
• Elders who had not been talking, eating or feeding themselves in nursing homes were, within a week of moving to a Green House, sharing stories and gaining weight. One woman even took a fork from her son, who thought he had to feed her, and began to feed herself.

Read More in the full article.

By Kristen Salamon
The Sheridan Press
Friday, January 2010

Doug Osborn, president of Green House Living for Sheridan, announced earlier this week that the Wyoming congressional delegation signed a letter of support for the Sheridan project.

According to a Green House press release, a loan request was made to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Loan Program in late December for $4.7 million in long-term financing.

Read more in full article.

Printed in the Sheridan Press
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Barbara Walter

Green House offers something different

We still hear lots of questions about the Green House Project, so we thought we would bring you up to date on how we are doing.

The official name is Green House Living of Sheridan, and it is the alternative to traditional nursing home care.  It is not a garden or a place where we grow flowers, although that is a part of it.

It is not just referring to the energy-efficient way to build a building, although that is part of it too.  The GHLS is a skilled nursing facility that is able to take care of our elders in a way that we all want to be treated.

(read more)

Chairman Doug Osborn sent this letter to the volunteer task force and board who have been working so hard this past year bringing Green House Living for Sheridan to the elders and their families throughout the State of Wyoming.

Dear Task Force Members,

I have been trying to get myself motivated to write this letter, and feeling a little
down about our current status on the project. So I went back to last year’s
letter for some inspiration. I have attached it for your information.

Where the first year of our operations (we started in January 2007) seemed to fly by
and was filled with lots of new-to-us tasks and opportunities that we were able
to work on and tick off our successes, this year has been quite different. I
believe we have made significant advances and have become a much more solid
team.  We carried on with the details and major tasks faced by the
corporation – learning about the Green House® culture, design development,
operations planning details, financial requirements and alternatives, working
with other Green House projects, working with major partners in education,
government and donors, spreading the word about our project, and very
importantly – fundraising.

Speaking for myself, I have come to learn what many of you told me when we started -
“fundraising is hard and takes time”. As we enter our third year of
development, I am a believer.

But I am also a believer in the real worth of the Green House project – nationally,
for the state of Wyoming and for the Sheridan community. If we
succeed in trailblazing in Sheridan, the state will open up to the
Green House concept and changes in the long term care of our citizens
will begin to happen. New nursing homes will be built on
this model; modifications to existing facilities will be made to improve life
for their patients along the lines of the Eden Alternative and incorporate as
much as possible of the Green House formula. In the long run, elders in need of
skilled nursing care will find in these alternatives a place to live and grow,
and an answer to the institutional life now found in conventional nursing
homes.

As always, the answer to tough problems is to persist. I believe we must – and we
will in time be able to look back on this effort as one of the most satisfying
things we have done in our individual lives.

Happy New Year to each of you and to your families who support you in this effort!

Doug
Osborn

President

Green House Living® for Sheridan

(307)684-9254

The attachment – 2007 letter

Dear Task Force Members,

This has been a good year for THE GREEN HOUSE® for Sheridan. Congratulations to all of you and
thanks for your passion for our elders and for all your good work this year on
our project.

A year ago Carmen, Keith and I took a trip to Tupelo to visit the Mississippi Methodist
Senior Services Green Houses and to participate in a daylong training program
at that facility. We became convinced that the “story” about this approach to
senior skilled nursing care is factual and a very good thing for the elders who
are in need of this level of care in an environment very much like home. The
elders who live there and the folks who provide the care seemed universal in
their praise for this approach. We had an extra day there so the three of us
spent it in forging a plan to make that dream come true for the Sheridan community. Most
of your names were identified as critical to the success of the endeavor.

On January 10, (2007) of this year we held our first meeting with the Task Force and
continued the planning and began some of the implementation work. Since then we
have:

• Formed up a Task Force Team with impressive individual credentials and motivation
• Applied for and were accepted into the national Green House® Project
• Formed Alternative Elder Living, Inc. a non profit corporation registered in the State
  of Wyoming
• Applied for and were granted (finally!) 501C3 non-profit status by the Internal Revenue
  Service
• Assisted in the passage of Senate File 0089 which authorizes increased and improved
  senior health care choices in our state
• Applied for and received pilot status from the State as an alternative care facility
  along with a $75,000 grant in August
• Contracted with NCB Capital Impact for technical services on the project
• Received a gift of land very suitable for our first four houses
• Received our first training session from NCB in October
• Applied for and received approval for a $125,000 loan from NCB
• Contracted with TSP Inc. architects and engineers for the design of our new facility
• Submitted preliminary drawings and plans to the Wyoming Department of Health for their
  approval
• Began providing support to Wyoming organizations interested in pursuing Green Houses for their communities
• Began coordination with the City of Sheridan on utilities and planning
• Began fundraising and financial planning for our initial four houses

The year has gone by quickly, but as you know we have made very substantial
progress. That progress is directly attributable to your dedicated efforts and
I am very grateful to all of you. The year 2008 will require us to focus on
fundraising early to allow us to borrow the additional money we need to
complete design and begin construction. We will no doubt have bumps along the
way but I know this group will react quickly and overcome any obstacles.

I look forward to continuing to work with each of you and wish you and your
families a very Happy New Year.

Doug
Osborn, Chairman

Members of our community who were privileged to attend the AARP program
last month sponsoring Dr. Bill Thomas were inspired to learn of the dramatic
changes being offered in elder care.

Dr. Thomas, nationally acclaimed geriatrician and author, is the originator of this new philosophy of professional service, which — according to The Wall Street Journal and Time magazine — is considered to be one of the most exciting
and innovative ideas in the health care field.

Well, what is Green House living anyway? Let me enumerate the Green House approach:
a) A Green House residence is indistinguishable from a private home.

b) Each of the residents has a private room and bath that can be decorated according to his own taste.

c) Residents are served meals family style and live and eat together as family.

d) Meals are cooked in the home.

e) Basic care is provided by the Shabaz, who staffs each residence giving professional care, coordinates meal preparation, plans activities and services,
and does light housekeeping and laundry.

f) There is a clinical support team associated with each residence, including skilled nurses, social workers, activities experts, therapists, nutritionists, pharmacists, and a medical director.

g) Residents have freedom to make their own daily schedules.

h) Costs are paid through Medicare, Medicaid, and privately as a nursing home.

The advantages of this care philosophy are:

a) The home atmosphere results in better acceptance by residents and family,
and a University of Michigan study indicates much higher satisfaction than in
institutional situations.

b) Improved quality of life. Person-directed care.

c) More continued oversight resulting in less injury, less depression, and a decrease in need for psychiatric and other medication.

d) High staff satisfaction. Visitors and family are always welcome.

e) Operating costs compare very favorably with conventional nursing homes.

The Green House concept is spreading, and there are now over 40 homes in the United States and abroad.

We in Sheridan have a unique opportunity to be the first in the world, let alone in the United States, to make this innovative idea a reality with community participation and assistance in helping provide the first four homes.

Green House living in Sheridan is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt group of interested and dedicated volunteers formed to help make Sheridan the first stand-alone,  community-supported project that will provide a welcome alternative in elder-person care.

Dr. Thickman is a physician with the VA Medical Center and a member of the
task force that is leading the development of the “Green House Living for
Sheridan” project. He is also director emeritus of the Sheridan Senior Center.
Center Stage is written by friends of the Senior Center for the Sheridan community.
It is a collection of insights and stories related to living well at every
age.

Ray Clark’s Dream …by Linda Clark

My late husband, the Rev. Ray Clark was instrumental in bringing the
concepts of The Green House long term care initiative to Sheridan. He
spent his life-time spearheading new projects that made living,
especially for elders, safer and more enjoyable. Ray began to spread
the vision and philosophy noted gerontologist, Dr. Bill Thomas was
writing about in his book, “What are Old People For?”
This was an alternative to and improvement on the traditional medical
model of long term care. He spoke with enthusiasm about the homelike
environment with plants, a central kitchen and hearth, private rooms,
flexible schedules and self-governing staff.
Ray had lots of experience with nursing homes and spoke highly of the
dedicated staff he encountered. Still elders were institutionalized and
he knew something had to
change. He also knew since he had worked on so many capital campaigns
in our community the generosity of Sheridan, WY would support the
concept and embrace the vision.
The Green House effort was Ray’s next project, but God called him home.
Now, I’m involved on the Task Force and working on the Culture
Committee to help bring about the change that was his dream. From
“Silver Threads” by Linda Clark