Emphasis on At-Home Services for Long-Term Care, New York Times

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 26 Apr 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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The New York Times on Monday examined the nursing home industry and a pilot program, called the Green House Project, which uses "smaller more domestic settings [to create] a closer sense of community" and has become part of a "broadening movement to humanize care." The U.S. nursing home occupancy rate has decreased from 100% to 85% over the last 15 years as more seniors have moved toward assisted living facilities and home health care, according to Joseph Angelelli, an assistant professor of health policy and administration at Pennsylvania State University. Many nursing homes are outdated, and advocates for seniors have said that "deinstitutionalized" homes, such as the Green Houses, could help nursing homes compete with assisted living facilities. The first four Green Houses were built in 2003 in Tupelo, Miss. In each Green House, which is located in a retirement community, two nurse aides trained in household management remain on duty at all times, and a nurse remains onsite to oversee the four houses. Residents also are encouraged to help with cooking or housekeeping to "help them feel that the Green House is their home," the Times reports. Among the 40 residents of the Green Houses in Tupelo, 25% have gained weight, an indication of good health, and the rate of staff turnover is less than 10% annually "in an industry that has a national average of 80% or 90%," according to Jude Rabig, director of the Green House Project. The Green House Project currently has financial commitments for 20 more programs in 15 states. However, some critics maintain that "potentially higher costs of operation could keep them from being widely available and impede their ability to win support from state and federal government," the Times reports (Hamilton, New York Times, 4/23).

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