From our house to “God’s house”

Categories: In The News, National Media Items

Over the last decade, the medical practice of elder care has come to recognize the importance of well-designed housing as foundational to the well-being of the elderly. Leading geriatrics doctors such as Dr. Bill Thomas have founded initiatives such as the Eden Alternative and the Green House Project which recognize that “human well-being” encompasses more than what is clinically measurable. These initiatives have brought a semblance of autonomy and a sense of “home” back to these elderly facilities. The concept of de-clinicalizing end-of-life care and understanding the need for elderly residences to have a home have become a driving vision for recent work in geriatrics and hospice care.

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  • “Healthia is the first care home in Australia to implement the U.S.-founded Green House Project model of care, which is informed by person-directed care principles and supports residents to have increased input into their everyday living.”

  • Facilities could improve their ventilation systems. They could abandon “semiprivate” rooms for private ones. Dividing buildings into smaller units with consistently assigned staff — an approach pioneered by the Green House Project — would both bolster relationships and reduce residents’ exposure to infection from workers coming and going.

  • The Green House concept just makes perfect sense for elder care, McAlilly said. “It’s built around the concept of home,” he said. “It’s their home, and we just happen to work there.”

  • AARP Iowa state director Brad Anderson: “Another approach would be investing in Green House homes, which are small skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities with private rooms, kitchens, and living rooms that look and feel like a home. These homes provide better care with lower staff turnover and are popping up in states across the country. Let’s start trying this model in Iowa.”