Doing better for elders

This cottage-like residence took away the medical approach while adding personal choice to the equation

BY NIKI SWANK

When Episcopal Retirement Homes sold its traditional 1960s nursing home, it reinvested in a new model of resident-focused care that allows residents to have their own agendas for daily living. The Deupree Cottages in Cincinnati consists of the Craftsman Cottage and the Colonial Cottage, designed using the Principles of Person-Centered Care approach.
“Each resident is empowered to decide when they want to bathe, what they want to eat and what they want to do with their daily lives,” says David Cooke of Design Collective, Inc. He explains the residents participated in the workshops with the design consultants to figure out the factors required to make them feel at home.

Open design
The planning stage began in 2006. Deupree Cottages administrator Emerson Stambaugh explains, “It was the genesis of the project where we began to look at person centered care.” During the workshops residents were asked to tear pages from architectural magazines that represent their ideal housing and the nursing homes were designed around their ideas. Stambaugh says, “The process was inclusive with all the parties involved.” The nurses designed the desk stations and the food and beverage department designed the kitchens and the residents designed their rooms.
The outcome was the Colonial and Craftsman ranch style cottages, at 10,500-sf each, nestled in the woods where a warehouse once, stood on more than two acres adjacent to the Deupree house property. Both provide 12 private rooms with private bathrooms; the Craftsman features a more casual stone shingle and the Colonial a more refined red brick siding. Each cottage also features a wellness library and spa rooms with a kitchen and hearth room to provide a home-like gathering around a fireplace.
A glass connector was needed to meet the zoning requirement for a single structure. It serves as a sunroom furnished with wicker furniture and handicapped accessible potting tables in a greenhouse setting for residents. Stambaugh explains that it only exists due to the zoning challenge, but it was a pleasant surprise, a “great additional place for residents to have at their disposal.” This challenge did not cause delays because the design team adapted quickly and found solutions.

Age in place
The planning stage focused on understanding how people “age in place” and how to help staff serve the residents better. “Notice that our project has no nurse station, carts in the hall, medical charts and so on. The project has been de-institutionalized, in keeping with the core concepts,” Cooke says.
The buildings were designed with “restoring purpose, choice and freedom to our residents,” which means the staff is on their schedule Stambaugh says. For example the kitchens are open and part of the hearth room, where staff prepares the meals based on the resident’s schedule. There are no hot boxes typical of an industry where food tends to need reheating, he explains.
The planning committee also visited 10 sites in six different states for to get ideas about making the nursing home better. For example: the windows needed to be low enough to seen out of while in a wheelchair, and multiple outlets are needed throughout the room to allow residents to set up their personal furniture however they want instead of having bed and television positions dictated. Director approval was received shortly after the planning stage began, and construction started late fall 2008, with occupancy in June 2009. The nursing license was received in October 2009.
According to Brian Gruber of Ridgestone Builders, soil conditions first had to be addressed. “The site borders a creek, and soil had to be removed. Once that was taken care of, it was a straightforward project,” he says.
The Person Centered Care approach meant the project was “designed in a fashion to allow it to act as a home,” Gruber says. Including personal amenities while taking out hospital-like elements sets it aside from the rest. Episcopal Retirement Homes’s team redefined the idea of how elders are cared for in this facility. Gruber says he is proud of “seeing people living there and changing their lives.”
Stambaugh explains communication was not a challenge and everyone worked together to be on the same page. “We all had the end vision in mind,” he notes, adding that he is proud of breaking the mode of a traditional nursing home by providing residents a better life. Throughout the process of design, the famous quote of Maya Angelou served as a guide, “Now that I know better, I do better.” BXM

Niki Swank is a reporter for the Builders Exchange, Inc., www.bxohio.com. Contact her at NSwank@bxohio.com.

Owner: Episcopal Retirement Homes
Architect: Design Collective Inc.
GC: Ridgestone Builders
Size: 21,000-sf
Vendors:
n S&K Construction, site work
n Carter Lumber, lumber, windows
n Sectron, hardware
n SG Construction, framing
n J Construction, Masonry
n Zero Co., roofing
n Knisel Exteriors, siding
n Merit Plumbing, plumbing
n Westfield Electric, electrical
n Executive Mechanical, HVAC
n Concord Fire Protection, fire suppression
n Royalty Mooney, insulation
n JR Interiors, drywall
n Smooth Finish, painting
n KSI, cabinets
n Countertop Shop, countertops
n Closet Master, mirrors, accessories
n Carpetland Carpet One, flooring