March/2015                 
This week we honor our LTC Administrators!

 

 For Long Term Care Administrators Week, we want to take a moment to honor your hard work and dedication!  We thought you'd like to read what one Green House administrator from Ohio had to say about her position:

 

As an administrator, it is so gratifying to see The Green House model come to fruition and see Elders live their lives with purpose.  Nothing is impossible here!  There are no layers of decision makers - the Elder is in charge.  Instead of saying, "We can't do that," we say, "Hmmm we will figure out how to make that happen for you."  It's a culture we've established.  Most recently, we figured out a way to connect our wireless nurse call system to an Elder's tablet so that he can alert the pagers (with the wink of his eye) when he needs assistance.  Just one more way cutting edge technology is being used in our home to give more quality of living to this Elder.

 

Rhonda A. Wolpert, LNHA

Mennonite Memorial Home and Willow Ridge Green House Homes

Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio

Episcopal Homes of Minnesota opened their Green House homes to Elders just a few weeks ago.  As you can see the Elders are truly enjoying their new home!  Not only will they enjoy their own bedroom, bath, home cooking, a hearth and balcony or terrace...they will also be able to enjoy the laughter of children each day.  A day care center will be part of Midway Village. 
The six Green House homes were part of a $45 million housing project on the campus.  When everyone moves in a total of 60 Elders will call "The Gardens" home.  

Below is a story about one of those Elders that just made the move!
  

   Sophie Canelake resides at Episcopal Homes of Minnesota on the third floor of The Gardens, which is a Green House home.  A Green House home is an intentional community for 10 elders, that provides skilled nursing care. She adores her room, because the quaint corner location provides a wonderful view of the outdoors, and easy access to the rest of her home.  At 91 years old, Sophie truly appreciates her new home, and the life she lives here!


 

In the latest issue of TIME Magazine, author and director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) Ai-jen Poo, discusses the coming Elder boom and how older adults and their care partners deserve to live with dignity.  When asked what exactly is wrong with today's nursing homes she replies, "There are great nursing homes. The Green House Project is a different kind of model. But those are, I think, more the exception than the rule."

 

As Green House adopters across the country work every day to create caring homes for meaningful lives, we must work together to make this model the rule rather than the exception. How do we ensure that Green House homes are available in every community across America?  Quite simply we need to make the model an integrated extension of the community itself where Elders and their care partners enjoy a relationship based on the power of interdependence. 


 Continue Reading

The annual benefit gala hosted by New York City's Jewish Home Lifecare, a 167-year-old elder care provider, is most definitely not the same old, same old. It is, in fact, an event unlike any other.

Called "Eight Over Eighty" and slated to take place on Wednesday, March 11, at the Mandarin Oriental New York, the event will pay tribute to eight New Yorkers who, in their 80s and 90s, continue to live lives of remarkable achievement, vitality and civic engagement.  

 

As Elders living in Green House homes age in place it is important that we resist the urge to revert back to institutional practices to solve the obstacles that may be associated with their changing care needs. During a Peer Network webinar last month, adopters had the opportunity to hear Dr. Bill Thomas discuss the topic of increasing acuity of Elders in Green House homes and his recommendations for sustaining the Green House core value of real home.  

 

Participants on the call were asked to think about Florence Nightingale and the new approach and standard of practice that she brought to the existing institutions of her time. Dr. Thomas believes that we are descendants of her philosophy of care and therefore must be prepared to care for Elders in sickness and in health.

 


 Here's hoping the luck of the Irish will be with you on the 17th!  They say that storytelling is a key part of Irish folklore. For those of us in a Green House home...sitting around the hearth with a warm fire in the background...is the perfect setting to share our special stories and memories!  

Read more about Ireland and the folktales and legends that have made it so famous! 

 
Issue: 3
In This Issue
First Green House Skilled Nursing Homes in Minnesota Welcome Their Elders!
Author Ai-jen Poo Recommends Green House Model in TIME Magazine
Eight over Eighty, Celebrates Elders and Raises Funds for Green House homes in Manhattan
"Expect the Best!"
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Heather Sawitsky, of White Oak Cottages, writes a moving piece about the movie, Still Alice.  White Oak Cottages are Assisted Living Green House homes where people living with dementia are creative, resourceful and whole.  

Still Alice, a movie based on Lisa Genova's novel about a linguistics professor who develops early onset Alzheimer's, is now in wide release. For those who love people with the disease, and for those who are hoping to avoid this disease (which by my count includes everyone) the question is, "Why would anyone want to see this movie?" 


Upcoming Events:



Green House Homes
"In the News"

Joel Grey & Barbara Carroll to be Honored at Jewish Home Lifecare's Eight Over eighty Benefit

The Green House Project described as preferable to traditional nursing homes



 

Hope to See YOU at the Conference:

March 16-18
Booth #815
The Green House Project Team
The Green House Project
(703) 647-2311
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Mary Hopfner-Thomas

Co-Editor

mhopfnerthomas@capitalimpact.org

 

Rachel Scher McLean

Co-Editor

rmclean@capitalimpact.org

 

 

THE GREEN HOUSE Newsletter

Published monthly to share information with providers, elders and others about THE GREEN HOUSE® Project, a new and innovative approach to long-term, skilled nursing care. To learn more, visit www.thegreenhouseproject.org