Green Homes 2010
"We want to make nursing "We are trying to create a nursing home that people will want to live and work in," says Jenkens. NCB Capital Impact of Oakland, Calif., under the leadership of Robert Jenkens, has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to replicate the Green House model nationally, with the goal of developing 50 such homes by 2010. "Excellent medical treatment is a key component of life in a Green House, but it is delivered discretely and supportively, respecting the rhythm of each elder's life." The concept has spread from four Green House homes in Tupelo, Mississippi, to more than 40 homes operating in 10 states.
"The Green House is based on deep relationships, nurturing, sustaining and protecting each person," says Joyce Ebmeier, a guide for a nine-person home in Nebraska. The common room centers around a single big table where the group--residents, staff, caregivers, family and friends--sits down to dinner every night together. The common living space comprises a shared living room, dining room and kitchen facilities. Here's more: A Green House is designed to look like a private home or apartment, with seven to ten bedrooms for seniors, so that each resident has his or her own room.
By altering facility sizes, interior designs, staffing patterns and methods of delivering skilled services, the Green House model provides greater health and lifestyle benefits compared to traditional nursing homes and assisted living communities. Green Houses provide an environment in which residents receive nursing support and clinical care without the care becoming the focus of their existence.
"We want to make nursing "We are trying to create a nursing home that people will want to live and work in," says Jenkens. NCB Capital Impact of Oakland, Calif., under the leadership of Robert Jenkens, has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to replicate the Green House model nationally, with the goal of developing 50 such homes by 2010. "Excellent medical treatment is a key component of life in a Green House, but it is delivered discretely and supportively, respecting the rhythm of each elder's life." The concept has spread from four Green House homes in Tupelo, Mississippi, to more than 40 homes operating in 10 states.
"The Green House is based on deep relationships, nurturing, sustaining and protecting each person," says Joyce Ebmeier, a guide for a nine-person home in Nebraska. The common room centers around a single big table where the group--residents, staff, caregivers, family and friends--sits down to dinner every night together. The common living space comprises a shared living room, dining room and kitchen facilities. Here's more: A Green House is designed to look like a private home or apartment, with seven to ten bedrooms for seniors, so that each resident has his or her own room.
By altering facility sizes, interior designs, staffing patterns and methods of delivering skilled services, the Green House model provides greater health and lifestyle benefits compared to traditional nursing homes and assisted living communities. Green Houses provide an environment in which residents receive nursing support and clinical care without the care becoming the focus of their existence.
