Lets Talk Environment

1
Lets Talk Environment

• Phillip Ray Gibson, M.S.
• Alison H. Climo, MSW, Ph.D.
• Michele Skeele, B.S.
• Julia Gibson, M.A.

2
Lets Talk Environment
Built Environment Institutional Elder Care

• Julia Gibson, M.A.
• Pisgah Valley Retirement Community
• Candler, NC

3
Many Living Alternatives.

• Granny Flats
• Shared Housing
• Senior Co-Housing
• Retirement Communities
• Skilled Nursing
• Assisted Living

4
Granny Flats

• Apartments added on to a home or over a garage or
  separate dwelling for elders built next to or
  behind a familys home.
• Large cities having issues with them becoming
  rental property, increasing population density
  with issues such as parking.

5
Shared Housing

• Multi-generational family housing
• Elders sharing housing with non-relatives in a
  symbiotic relationship

6
Senior Co-Housing

• Semi-communal enclaves, with separate homes but
  a supportive community
• Newsweek
• Typical size 25 to 35 individual homes opening
  onto courtyard with community center

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Senior Co-Housing (cont.)

• Co-Housing Communities
• ElderSpirit in Abingdon, Virginia
• Glacier Circle in Davis, California
• Under development in Asheville
• Corazon of Altura.

8
Institutional Environment

• WNC Continued need for long term care
• Facilities and retirement communities are
  changing to meet the needs of upcoming
  generations.
• The ability to successfully create, sustain, and
  replicate healthy cultures .is now our fields
  most important skill. (William Thomas, MD)

9
Institutional Settings

• Skilled Nursing Assisted Living
• Market forces are shaping the way our long term
  care institutions are designed, built, and
  operated.
• Most companies are not financially equipped to
  rebuild

10
Industry Change

• Industry has many models for culture change
• Wellspring
• Regenerative Community
• All of these models address resident-centered
  care and staff/resident/family/volunteer
  community.
• Some address the physical environment to varying
  degree
• The Eden Alternative
• GreenHouse model.

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Eden Alternative

• Accepted by many WNC Facilities
• Focuses on the environment in terms of
• Intergenerational Activity
• Interaction with other living creatures/pets
• Gardening

12
Regulatory Issues

• Indoor Air Quality Smoking
• Now legislated no indoor smoking
• Noise Pollution
• Audible nurse call system

13
GreenHouse Model

• Totally changes the setting of long term care
  from the large institutional to a family style
  home centered around a hearth.
• 1st Greenhouse Tupelo Mississippi
• The Greenhouse is a place full of life and
  growth and green signifies life for us.
• Steve Mcalily
• Methodist Homes, Mississippi

14
Retirement Communities

• Homes that dont include energy savings,
  sustainable materials and universal design
  features will not be as appealing to buyers.
  American Society for Interior Designers
• Several communities in WNC investigating green
  building design

15
Opportunities for Institutions

• Facilities are only beginning to realize the
  importance of being green
• Environmentally friendly cleaning products
• Energy audits
• Energy efficient light bulbs
• Recycling

16
Opportunities for Retirement Communities

• Biodiesel buses
• Shared outing with other facilities when buses
  arent full
• Incorporating Universal Design
• Gardens for independent living residents

17
Long Term Solutions

• New facilities must be built using new
  environmentally friendly technologies.
• These include
• Energy efficient design
• Renewable energy sources
• Local materials

18
Summary

• New cohorts of elders have high expectations.
• The retirement industry must change to meet those
  expectations including
• More choices in living arrangements
• Intergenerational interaction
• Environmentally friendly design
• Universal Design
• Focus on healthy cultures

19
Thank You

• Phillip Ray Gibson, MS,
• Alison H. Climo, MSW, Ph.D.
• Michele Skeele, B.S.
• Julia Gibson, MA