Making the Nursing Home More Like 'Home'

TUPELO, Miss., Aug. 21, 2005 — -- For five years, 95-year-old Mildred Adams lived in a traditional nursing home. By the end of her stay, she had stopped eating and talking.

"She didn't respond to us when she came to visit us," said Becky Adams, her daughter-in-law. "She was totally helpless, and we just felt like she didn't have long to live."

Now, she not only talks -- she sings her favorite songs, like "Amazing Grace," all day long. And she not only eats -- she feeds herself and has gained 20 pounds.

She attributes it all to her new home -- the Green House Project. It's an experiment in reinventing the nursing home.

"I just like the people," she said. "They're friendly. They're nice."

Located in Tupelo, Miss., the Green House Project took 144 people out of a traditional, hospital-like facility and moved them into 10 cozy cottages with 10 residents apiece.

"The very first day, she made a complete turnaround, and it was like she was happy to be here," Becky Adams said. "And she has done just wonderful being here."

The Green House Project's goal is to make a nursing home less like a sterile institution and more like an actual home.

Green House Project residents get family-style meals around an open kitchen. They decide how the house should be decorated. Plus, the care is hands-on. The staff makes the residents' meals and eats with them.

The Green House Project has a much lower turnaround than in a traditional nursing home.

"It's about having the highest possible quality of life despite the fact that you are frail," said Jude Rabig, the national director of the Green House Project.

Rabig says the Green House Project doesn't cost any more to run than a traditional nursing home. In fact, state Medicaid pays the same amount per resident as in a regular nursing home.

"One of our goals was to make this an option for all elders, not just those who have huge resources," Rabig said. "So, if you qualify for nursing home care in your state and there is a 'greenhouse' in your state, you would qualify for the 'greenhouse.' "