A radical departure from traditional nursing homes.

The GREEN HOUSE® Project represents a revolution in long-term care, creating small homes that return control, dignity, and a sense of well-being to elders, while providing high-quality, personalized care.  A Green House® home differs from a traditional nursing home in terms of facility size, interior design, organizational structure, staffing patterns, and methods of delivering skilled professional services. Green House® homes are designed from the ground up to look and feel like a real home. At the center of The Green House model are skilled nursing assistants called Shahbazim who manage residents’ care, with support from nurses and therapists—a reversal of the traditional nursing home model.

Ave Maria is home to nine Green House® homes, each providing private bedrooms and baths for 10-12 residents. The homes include a large common hearth area, large kitchen, dining room, landscaped garden, and patio area.  Residents live in community as a family sharing meals, socializing, and participating in activities.

Two of Ave Maria’s nine Green Houses are Rehab Green Houses dedicated to providing residents and clients with short term physical, speech, and occupational therapy.  Experienced rehabilitation staff work with residents and clients to develop a customized plan that meets their personal therapy goals. Rehab Green Houses provide private bedrooms and baths for 12 residents, a common hearth area, kitchen, and dining room, and therapy room, surrounded by landscaping and patio areas.  Weather permitting, clients can also do their therapy outdoors—getting in and out of the therapy car, practice walking on different surfaces such as gravel, grass, and concrete, and navigating stairs and ramps.  While working on their rehabilitation, clients live in the Rehab House sharing meals, socializing, and participating in activities

The results of The Green House Project are simple and profound: elders are happier and healthier. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation support is helping to spread The Green House model across the United States. More than 260 Green House homes in 32 states are open or under development, thanks to funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.