Council on Aging Answers 2016 - 55

COUNCIL ON AGING - ORANGE COUNTY

care system money by providing better care and keeping
elders healthier.
What makes Green House homes so different from
traditional nursing care facilities?
In these small, elder-centered homes, residents have
more autonomy over how they want to live, receive more
personal attention from direct care staff, and share a full
and engaging day-to-day social life. Here, individuality
and choice are honored, excellent care is a priority, and
people have more satisfying and meaningful lives, work,
and relationships. As a result, Green House elders are
happier and healthier than elders who live in traditional
nursing facilities. They take more enjoyment in life, remain independent longer, and get more direct-care time
daily. Their families are happier too.
Life in a Green House Home
Each Green House home is a self-contained residence
for six to 12 people, designed to look like the homes or
apartment buildings in the surrounding community.
Every elder has his or her own private room and bathroom. Meals are prepared in an open kitchen and served
at a communal dining table so that people can share not
only their meals, but their lives. A living room with a

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Council On Aging-Orange County | 714-479-0107 | www.coaoc.org Answers Guide 2016

HOUSING

can be difficult. We all want the best care, a high quality
of life, and, most of all, a place that feels like home. Traditional nursing facilities feel more like hospitals than
homes - which is why most elders do not want to live in
them.
The Harvard School of Public Health recently conducted a survey to assess the health and health care attitudes of Americans who are in or nearing retirement.
The study found that Americans over 50 experience
deep anxiety about what will happen when they can no
longer live independently.
Among the most pressing findings were that eight
out of 10 respondents said they worried about living in
an institutional environment that isn't like home. And
roughly three-quarters worried about having too few
nurses to provide the care they needed or losing their
privacy in a traditional nursing home facility.
Green House homes may just change people's perceptions of what long-term care holds. The Green House
Project® has pioneered a radically different approach
to long-term care that returns control, dignity, and a
sense of well-being to elders, their families, and nursing
care staff. At the same time, research shows that Green
House homes cost the same or less to operate than traditional nursing homes, and may even save the health

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Council on Aging Answers 2016