Greenhouse concept for skilled nursing

Specialties Geriatric

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Is anyone familiar with the Greenhouse concept? I may be getting a new skilled nursing center :p We are considering the Greenhouse, but I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the concept, or has ever worked with it!

Another similar concept is the "pod", where there are clusters of private rooms with a common "great room" type area. Anyone familiar with that? OH, just the thought of trading the "institutional" look for a homelike setting, instead of trying to make our institutional building more homelike!:balloons: Interested in your thoughts!

ktwlpn, LPN

3,844 Posts

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Is anyone familiar with the Greenhouse concept? I may be getting a new skilled nursing center :p We are considering the Greenhouse, but I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the concept, or has ever worked with it!

Another similar concept is the "pod", where there are clusters of private rooms with a common "great room" type area. Anyone familiar with that? OH, just the thought of trading the "institutional" look for a homelike setting, instead of trying to make our institutional building more homelike!:balloons: Interested in your thoughts!

Isn't the Greenhouse concept connected with the Eden Alternative? I have read alot about Eden but there are no true Eden facilities in this area.I worked in a private nursing home with a small dementia unit modeled on the Eden concept but only as far as the architecture and staffing...We were not truly Eden trained...That costs lots -and that is the only problem I have with the concept....It sounds great but no-one should have to pay for it....We had plants and pets....but we were always very short staffed....That's why I left-I now work in the county run home.It ain't purty but we have way better pay and benefits and that translates to better staffing.At the end of the day I can leave knowing that the residents I was responsible for got the care that they deserved...I could not say the same at the other joint....things were so bad for a time that no-one fed the parakeets on the units=they all croaked within days of one another and the bags of birdfood were sitting on the shelves thick with dust...You can imagine what shape the residents were in.....I loathed that place...

donmomofnine

356 Posts

Yes, it is taking the Eden concept one step further. We had a retreat with our board of directors yesterday and I don't know if they will go for it conceptuallly, but the money won't be a problem. We also are okay with staffing and actually would be reducing staff with the greenhouse staffing model. I think we may have to compromise with a "pod" type of arrangement.

Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Our place is huge and has private rooms with one common room in each service area (we have 10), and several other larger common rooms throughout the building. Very home-like feel, and each smaller common room has lovely living room furnature and a huge large screen tv, and carts are brought up with snacks and coffee/tea routinely.

One area is the unit, and it is a lock down basically. It too is quite fancy, with two general common areas, and a common area that can be closed (fancy french doors) to provide privacy for residents and family..complete with a lovely fireplace! Of course each resident has their own private room, but the rooms are larger than most to provide room for hoyers, wheelchairs and equipment that most of our unit folks need. This unit is only 12 rooms and from what I hear already has a 3-4 year waiting list..oh yes..and EXPENSIVE as all get go!!!! Everything is done for you there!

Residents can have just about anything in their own rooms except for pets, because staff doesn't have the time to deal with them, and we had a similar experience with birds/fish as was mentioned...so pets are out! We have a multitude of gardens tended year round, a greenhouse, billiards room, gentlemen's den, ladies craft room, organized card games, pharmacy, beauty salon and barber shop. Meals are served caffeteria style, but quite a fancy home like setting with fire places, lovely paintings, and uniformed staff. We also have two large halls for celebrations or what not, and 5 smaller ones for meetings or dinners.

Like I said...my facility is HUGE! and that is the assisted living side...there is another side that is independant living that is equal in size!

Lovely place, very expensive! I have heard it is the Royals Royce of facilities! (to bad they didn't consider staff very important..the nurses office is an actual large closet that was supose to be for linens...yep, they forgot they wanted to have 24 hour nurses on staff there in the planning stage!!!!!).

donmomofnine

356 Posts

Well, I certainly will be making plans for the nursing staff too! Actually, in this model, the nurses travel from house to house and the meds are kept in a locked cabinet in each resident's room.

The dining is at one large table in the common room and the meals are prepared by the nursing assistants (shabbaz) with the resident's help. It sounds neat to me. Instead of building a "facility" and then trying to make it "like home", why don't we just build a "home"! The big problem will be sitting down with the department of health and making sure we are following regulations with this kind of model!:nono:

ktwlpn, LPN

3,844 Posts

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
The big problem will be sitting down with the department of health and making sure we are following regulations with this kind of model!:nono:
Oh-they'll be dazzled...They love that stuff around here....Just great them with a continental breakfast,the therapy dog at you side and you'll be in like Flynn.....Around here they tend to overlook real problems at facilities like you'll be building...Seriously though-it sounds like it will be a wonderful place to live and work.....I don't mean to sound bitter-I just get frustrated.I wish the powers that be where I am now would kick some dough our way so we could improve those things for our folks but we are bleeding money....and the voters won't stand for higher taxes for us......The buildings are old and antiquated-it is a shame,really.....but we have not broken even or made money for several years now-I fear privatization soon...
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