The Christmas season in a nursing home is often filled with carolers, family visits and special treats. Activity rooms fill with elementary school children singing favorite Christmas songs as Elders smile with enjoyment. Christmas trees adorn the lobbies, dining rooms and other places where space can be found. It is a festive time.
Often, Elders are passive observers of these festivities. At Willow Ridge, Bluffton, Elders not only sit back and enjoy, they are actively involved in decorating, planning special meals, making tree ornaments and even baking for the holidays. At Willow Ridge, the Elders are truly “home for the holidays.”
Willow Ridge is composed of two Green House homes; the only ones in the state of Ohio. Each home provides 24-hour nursing care in ten private rooms with private bathrooms located around a central hearth/dining room and kitchen. Like in so many homes during the holidays, the kitchen and dining room table become the center for food, fellowship and reminiscing.
In a Dec. 15, New York Times article titled The Green House Effect: Homes for the Elderly to Thrive, the author highlights some of the unique aspects of living in a Green House home.
The writer states, “(Elders) participate, when able, in food preparation and eat in a communal setting that is more like a home dining room than a cafeteria. Unlike the regimented meals in nursing homes, Green House residents are free to choose when to eat.”
While dining choice and visiting at the table (known as “convivium”) are significant aspects of the Green House philosophy, Elders also have choice in when they rise in the morning, when they go to bed, when they bathe and how they spend their time during the day.
Elders who find meaning and purpose in doing daily chores like laundry and housekeeping are welcome to participate. Those who are thrilled to never have to cook again don’t have to step foot in the kitchen.
The holidays can be especially difficult for some people. This is often exacerbated for Elders living in institutions. Loss is keenly felt during seasons when family traditions and social gatherings are no longer possible. The Elders, their families and staff at Willow Ridge work together to provide activities and events that help fill some of the voids felt during the holidays.
On Thursday, Dec. 18, Frieda House (103 Willow Ridge Dr.) celebrated the holidays with an “open house” and invited family and friends to join them in singing carols around the piano, playing table games, enjoying Christmas cookies and a trip around town to view the Christmas lights.
There was a festive mood in the house as several families sang Silver Bells and Away in a Manger at the piano as the daughter of Christine, one of the Elders, played the piano.
Another Elder, Doris, enjoyed cookies and conversation around the dining room table with her daughter and two grandchildren. As is typical at most family gatherings, young children ran through the house, their eyes all aglow, knowing that Santa was on his way.
After returning from seeing the Christmas lights in Bluffton, another Elder, Durand, headed straight to the kitchen for some fudge and buckeyes.
In addition to the open house at Willow Ridge, Elders living there have enjoyed a number of activities and events this Christmas season including:
• A trip to see the Christmas tree display at the Allen County Museum
• A carol sing-along and craft activity with local Boy Scouts, baking gingerbread cookies and snowmen
• Christmas trivia supper
• Elder/Staff Christmas Meal
• Making snow globes with a craft club
• Family Christmas Day meal
• Barberettes singing at Betty House
The New York Times article referenced earlier states, “The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has provided grants for the project, has called the Green House concept a model that can be “a catalyst for significant social change” in how frail older adults are cared for in this country.
Although Green House homes may not be the only way to go, they are demonstrating the undeniable value of starting from scratch to create a new, less-institutional approach that enhances care.
“This was one of the most attractive aspects of the Green House model,” says Laura Voth, CEO of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio of which Willow Ridge is a part.
She adds: “When we toured the first Green House homes in Tupelo, MS in 2004, we were struck by how much the houses felt like real homes. It fit so well with our mission of providing person-centered care and purposeful living in a Christian environment. We were convinced this is what the Elders of our communities deserved.”
Since opening in 2012, Willow Ridge has been well received by the community.
“We have been full since April, 2013 when we received our licenses from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS),” said Rhonda Wolpert, Administrator of Willow Ridge.
“When the Ohio Department of Health did their annual survey earlier this year, they were impressed by the real-home atmosphere as well as the quality of care. In fact, they could hardly believe they were in a nursing home! We were pleased that we received no citations regarding the care and safety of the elders,” Wolpert said.
Much of the reason for the positive survey can be attributed to the excellent care-givers and the staffing model that is used.
Care givers (called Shahbaz in the Green House model) are universal workers meaning that they are involved in all aspects of managing the household. Kind of like the moms and dads of the house, they do laundry, prepare meals, and do light housekeeping in addition to providing direct Elder care.
This provides increased interaction with the Elders, allowing the Shahbaz to get to know the Elders they serve more fully. There is also consistency in staffing which means the same Shahbazim (plural for Shahbaz) care for the same Elders nearly every day.
Each Shahbaz is responsible for just five Elders whereas in many traditional not-for-profit nursing homes an aid typically cares for 7-10 elders. In for-profit homes, an aid may be expected to care for as many as 12-15 Elders.
The unique philosophy and environment of the Green House homes makes it possible for Elders like Christine, Doris, Durand and others to say with sincerity, “It’s good to be home for the holidays.”
