JGS Lifecare Partners with Green House Project
LONGMEADOW — Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JGS Lifecare, announced that JGS Lifecare will be working with the Green House Project to help implement the small-house model of care in the new Sosin Center for Rehabilitation, currently under construction, and throughout the Leavitt Family Jewish Home community over the next 18 months.
“Green House has worked with over 170 nursing homes around the country,” said Baicker. “They’ve helped establish a new standard in long-term and post-acute care that’s resulted in higher-quality outcomes and increased elder and caregiver satisfaction.”
Added Susan Frazier Ryan, senior director of the Green House Project, “JGS Lifecare has a strong reputation for high quality, with over 100 years of commitment to elders, families, and staff in the community. We commend them for their vision to further their mission by implementing the Green House model, and their commitment to transform long-term care in Western Massachusetts.”
A Green House home is a self-contained home for up to 12 elders, designed to provide a personalized model of care within a real home setting. Each home features ample natural light, a central living area, an open kitchen, and a dining room. Staff is rigorously trained in the Green House philosophy, giving residents four times more human contact than the traditional institutional model.
The Green House model will be implemented in the 24,000-square-foot Sosin Center, featuring two Green House homes, when it is completed in eight to 10 months. The Sosin Center will be the only Green House-certified facility in Western Mass. and the third in Massachusetts. The model will then be implemented throughout JGS Lifecare’s 200-bed skilled nursing home.
“As we move away from traditional models of care and embrace the Green House model of care, we will not only improve the care provided, but also enhance the dignity of those living here,” said Anne Thomas, vice president of residential health for JGS Lifecare. “Green House homes combine the best of a real home setting with skilled care, giving elders the freedom to live life on their terms, rather than conform to the rhythms of the institution. It helps them thrive in comfortable spaces that feel like home.”
JGS Lifecare is working with Perkins Eastman, one of the foremost architectural firms designing in the Green House model in the U.S., to assist in the design of the upgrades and new facility. The Sosin Center and nursing-home remodel are part of JGS Lifecare’s Project Transformation, a $20 million, multi-step initiative to enhance person-centered care on the Longmeadow campus.