A new nursing home that’s only the sixth of its kind in Arkansas is close to being completed. “No one can plan for a pandemic, but they did a great job of doing that and we’re still right on schedule for a late fall open and we’re proud of that,” vice president of strategic operations John Montgomery said.

In the Green House Cottages, elders live in a home-like environment. In contrast to traditional nursing homes with long hallways lined with rooms, the facility is made up of small cottages with private suites surrounding a common living area.

"The elders are happier in this atmosphere,” stated Rhonda Hall, registered nurse at Green House Cottages. "What you’re doing is observing them on a more personal level and interacting with them more."

Unlike a typical nursing home setting, the Leonard Florence Center consists of 10 7,000-square-foot condominium-style “homes” on six floors that care for both short- and long-term care residents.

Staff teams work collaboratively at the Green House Homes to give personalized care to elders while fostering their continual progress.

TRU Community Care created a “hug tent” on Friday for residents at the Hover Green Houses senior living community so their loved ones could embrace them, in some cases for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

We are declaring our vision that a Green House Cottage facility should be no more than 60 miles from any community and any family in Arkansas.

The panelists noted that small home designs are much better equipped to deal with the pandemic than larger environments and have fared much better than their counterparts in the mitigation of COVID.

The number of Green House facilities is small, with just over 300 facilities in several states, but we have enough information about their operations and costs to know that they can remain affordable.

Despite its size and variety of housing arrangements, Rest Haven of Holland has stayed clear of coronavirus in all three levels of care it provides.