The Green House \u00ae model is a new idea that has made a big impact on senior living. The founders of the model recognized that nursing homes were \u201caging faster than the people living inside them,\u201d and desired to replace the institutional nursing home model with small intentional communities where elders and staff focus on living full and vibrant lives. Today there are over 200 Green House \u00ae communities across the United States.<\/p>\n
One of the newest Green House communities is Morris Hall Meadows at Lawrenceville. Morris Hall Meadows is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton and currently has 56 rehabilitation beds and 73 long-term care beds.<\/p>\n
In a typical Green House Project \u00ae home, each elder has his or her own private room and bathroom. Homes typically also include a living room, kitchen and open dining area. The homes are built to blend in with surrounding houses and neighborhoods. The Green House Project \u00ae model allows for urban, rural and suburban style homes.<\/p>\n
Residents do not have strict schedules and are encouraged to interact with staff and other residents, plus visitors (pets and family members). Staff members and residents develop personal relationships with one another because of the small community and home atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Morries Hall needed to expand their long-term care beds and wanted a person-centered care in a home-like environment. In their research they saw value in the Green House \u00ae model and the resident outcomes at their communities.<\/p>\n
The architect on the project was NK Architects, with offices in Morrisville and Manhattan, and numerous client projects throughout New York and New Jersey. NK Architects has designed the new facility so that each individual cottage is self-contained with private bedrooms, a family-style kitchen, dining and ‘hearth’ rooms.<\/p>\n
NK brought on DesignPoint to assist in the Morris Hall project due to DesignPoint\u2019s expertise in senior living as well as their experience in residential and health care interiors.<\/p>\n
Architecturally, the project is residential in scale and is patterned as a neighborhood with several amenities such as a rain garden, walking paths, front porches and backyard patios.<\/p>\n