A Green House home is an independent, self-contained home for six to 12 people, designed to look like a private home or apartment in the surrounding community. Green House homes are typically licensed as skilled nursing facilities and meet all applicable federal and state regulatory requirements. Each person who lives in a Green House home has a private bedroom and full bathroom, opening to a central hearth/living area and an open kitchen and dining area. Elders share meals at a common table. Family members, friends and staff are welcome to join the community at mealtimes and other activities.
Each home is staffed by a team of universal workers, known as Shahbazim. The staff has core training as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), plus extensive training in The Green House philosophy, the self-managed work team structure of The Green House home, culinary skills, and household management. Shahbazim provide personal care, meal preparation, and light housekeeping and laundry, among other duties.
A clinical support team includes nurses, social workers, therapists, physicians, activities and dietary professionals, and pharmacists. Nurses serve each Green House home on a 24-hour basis. One nurse typically covers two homes during the day and evening and up to three homes at night. The other clinical professionals on the team visit the houses regularly and as individual residents require.
The people who live and work in a Green House home collaborate to create a daily routine that meet an elder’s individual needs. If they wish, elders can help cook, and assist with light housekeeping and laundry. There is no predetermined routine, facilitating their independence and the ability to pursue individual interests.
Today at 3pm, senior staff, Board of Directors, and ombudsman and liaison nurses went on the agency van to see this place in Chelsea. Still completely blown away!
It's the only urban one of these "green house homes"--- most are like separate ranch houses in the country--- these are the ranch houses, two on each floor, stacked, for a total of ten "households" of ten individuals each. They are private residences, with a front door, large living room with a fireplace, large communal kitchen, large dining room, individual bedrooms each with a private bathroom, and either a patio or porch. We did not get a tour of the entire ten households; as a private residence all members of a household had to agree to open their home to us.
The one we saw was completely inhabited by folks with ALS, AKA "Lou Gehrigs Disease". With technologies in place, each individual was independent; even if all they could move was an eyebrow or to blink an eye, they had computers set up to mobilize them in a wheelchair, turn things on and off, open & close things. Even had some kind of automated device in each room to "lift" them out of their wheelchair to put them in bed, and something automated to clean themselves up in the bathroom. Nurses and other staff are there, availablle, and are part of the household. On this unit, three individuals were 24/7 ventilator dependent. And this IS a full fledged nursing home, have to meet DPH and all other regulatory requirements, take Medicare AND Medicaid.
Another specialized unit were for folks severely disabled by MS. The others were elders in various degrees of frailty, dementia and Alzheimers--- or not.
I have never seen anything like this! Shows what IS possible for elders and severely disabled. Movement is called "Culture Change" and this is not only state-of-the-art, but is CREATING the art & science to make it so!
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