Legacy Lifecare CEO Advocates for Specialized Support To Curb Nursing Home Closures

Categories: In The News, National Media Items

Berman worked with the very first urban Green House through Legacy’s founding organization – Chelsea Jewish Lifecare. Based on a model designed by the Green House Project, which is dedicated to creating alternative living environments to traditional nursing home care facilities, Chelsea Jewish has condominium-style Green Houses and caters to populations typically underserved by traditional skilled nursing facilities, such as individuals with ALS, multiple sclerosis, and those requiring ventilator-dependent care. 

“All of our homes already operate at [staffing] ratios that are equal to or greater than the minimum required.”

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  • “Some suggestions included increasing state investment in home care, incentivizing a transition toward fewer-occupant rooms and Green House-style facilities, standardizing the Medicaid reimbursement system with data-based adjustments over time, increasing audits and financial transparency requirements for nursing homes, and building workforce pipelines into the sector through scholarships and more flexible training programs.”

  • In the long term, nursing homes may need to explore entirely new models of care, Brown assistant professor Elizabeth White added, pointing to the Green House model, which establishes smaller scale facilities and emphasizes self-sufficiency and community, as an example. “There’s work around really innovative solutions out there.”

  • “Knowing how community ties can help providers obtain capital, and what type of loan is most industry-friendly can be successful steps towards garnering capital for senior care projects. Taking steps to minimize risk for the lender is another huge factor in attracting capital, according to experienced lenders and those involved in nursing home projects said during a recent webinar hosted by the Green House Project.”

  • “She calls it the Einstein option, and includes in her standards for innovation commitments to person-directed care, especially training; small home models; alternative payment policies; and development of a stronger direct care workforce. Even a $600 million investment to kick off such catalytic change, she said, would cost just one-tenth of 1% of SNF spending over the next three years.”