Nursing Home Gets the Green Light for Innovative Green House Project
Nancy Fromson
Special to The Journal
CHELSEA - On Chelsea's Admirals Hill, the Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home Foundation is about to undertake a construction project to provide skilled nursing care for 100 residents in an environment that bears little resemblance to today's nursing homes.
Every aspect of the Leonard Florence Center for Living, from its unique architecture to its innovative staffing, will redefine the nursing home experience.
“Using the nationally-known model called Green House, the Leonard Florence Center will have 10 self-contained 'houses' comprised of 10 private bedrooms arranged around a common living room, dining area and open kitchen,” says executive director Barry Berman. “Each bedroom will have its own private bath and shower, and each house will reflect the distinctive needs, interests and tastes of its residents.”
The $20 million project, one of more than 20 in the United States, is the first multi-story Green House to be built in an urban area. The five-story structure, which will replace the 25-year-old nursing home now in use, will have two houses per floor and will complete the foundation's 5.5-acre senior housing campus on Admirals Hill.
“The Green House concept emphasizes the resident rather than the institution,” Berman says. “Because the intended feeling in the Green House is one of home, it provides dignity and respect to nursing home residents of all ages and care levels. While all licensing requirements are met, the harsh reality of life in a nursing home is removed.”
The Green House model is considered a path breaking development in elder care. It is based upon the simple premise that older peoplewill thrive if their residences feel more like homes and less like hospitals.
Unlike traditional nursing homes, Green House facilities have no long corridors, no nursing stations, and no institutional meals or food carts. Residents enjoy home-cooked meals prepared in their own kitchens and served in a common area just steps from their rooms.
Dr. William Thomas, the force behind the Green House movement, has said he believes that thousands of people die in nursing homes each year from broken hearts. The idea behind Green House is to abolish the mindset that equates old age with illness, and restore a measure of independence and freedom to those of an advanced age.
“At the center of the Green House is quality of life – meaning worth and dignity,” Thomas told National Public Radio last year. “At the Green House, we put those things at the center of life.”
It is not surprising that the cutting edge Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home is at the forefront of this innovative project. Last year, the visionary Berman unveiled a state-of-the-art European style health spa designed exclusively for residents, many of whom have mobility problems and/or dementia. Prior to that, Berman instituted a fully-stocked store where all employees, from the janitor up to the CEO, can select and take home up to $200 worth of name-brand groceries and other products each month.
CJNH residents are excited about project, which will probably take several years to come to fruition. Resident Toby Wilgoren, originally from Malden, says that having her own room will allow her to keep her self-respect. She believes the new facility will have a positive impact on her 95-year-old mother, who is also a CJNH resident.
“How my mother would enjoy being able to cook again, with supervision of course,” Wilgoren says. The project's backers expect to raise half the funds, and acquire the remainder through a loan guaranteed by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Though fundraising is only in the planning stages, some gifts are already in hand, including that of Leonard and Charlotte Florence, for whom the new building will be named. The Florences, who live in Brookline, have Chelsea roots.
