Saint Elizabeth Home Opens Four New Nursing Homes in EG

EAST GREENWICH — In a first for Rhode Island, St. Elizabeth Home on Friday officially opened THE GREEN HOUSE® Homes on a new cul de sac in Town. Only two other such homes exist in New England. The concept brings 24/7 nursing care into a home setting. Some 70 new jobs have been created to bring on nurses, doctors, certified nursing assistants, physical and occupational therapists, a social worker and a dietician.

"Four 8,000 sq. ft. homes, each with 12 private bedrooms and private bathrooms, have been built adjacent to Saint Elizabeth Home," the nursing home said. "The homes feature shared living space including a spacious kitchen and dining area, a hearth room with gas fireplace, a den and outdoor courtyard."

According to the press release, the green house model of care was developed by Dr. Bill Thomas, founder of THE GREEN HOUSE Project ( www.greenhouseproject.org ). The CNAs not only provide personal care, but they also receive four weeks of additional training in safe food preparation, laundry and housekeeping. In a green house home the CNAs are called Shahbaz which is a Persian word for Falcon, and these 'Shahbaz' watch over the elders in the home and share life with them.

“Today is a day to celebrate,” says Steven J. Horowitz, president and CEO of Saint Elizabeth Community. “These four homes represent an end to the moratorium that has been in place for over 25 years in RI on adding beds to the current nursing home system.”

To obtain permission to build new nursing homes, Saint Elizabeth Home responded to a request for applications from the state Department of Health. Saint Elizabeth Home was one of three applications submitted and the only one approved. Applicants had to offer an innovative model of care.

“The unintended consequence of the moratorium on adding licensed nursing home beds to the system was that it stifled innovation,” says Matt Trimble, COO of Saint Elizabeth Community. “By creating a process to place beds in a pool for future use by current licensed nursing home providers, the state allows for innovation and growth in the industry.”

Two of the homes opened in April and are fully occupied. Two more homes will open soon. Residents are moving in the first week of June. The four new homes add 48 nursing home beds to Saint Elizabeth Home’s license which increased from 120 to 168 beds. Applications and more information are available on Saint Elizabeth Community’s website at www.stelizabethcommunity.org.

“The model has proven that relationships flourish in green house homes,” says Trimble, “relationships between residents and caregivers, relationships amongst the elders, and among families.”

In 1999 Saint Elizabeth Home purchased the former Hill-Top Drive in property, built a new nursing home and moved in 2001 to East Greenwich.