Caregivers Corner � January/February 2004
Grandma's House�A Shining Example of True Family

By Allison Lantieri
Regional Director of Education & Change Management
Institute for Caregiver Education

Stop in for a tour at Grandma�s House in Orlando, Florida, and you will witness what pioneers in the long term care industry have been championing since the beginning�building community, knowing each person, individualizing care and celebrating life.

Located inside Westminster Care of Orlando, Grandma�s House is a revolutionary model of living that integrates elders needing long term care and children with rehabilitative and chronic needs. This special community has 24 adult beds and 36 pediatric beds located in the same neighborhood. To visitors walking through the community, the benefits of integrating the young and old are obvious.

The need to continue nurturing is well-documented in the long term care industry. Intergenerational programming, designed to attempt to meet that need, is not uncommon. However, Grandma�s House has taken the once-a-month visits from area schoolchildren to a completely different level. The community refers to that opportunity to nurture in their mission statement, �We offer our residents a neighborhood where they can live together experiencing the healing powers of hope and love.�

"We offer our residents a neighborhood where they can
live together experiencing the healing powers of hope and love."

The reaction to the Grandma�s House model of care has been extraordinary. The Behr family, of their son Kevin�s experience says, �Kevin seems very happy with his surroundings at Grandma�s House. We believe the home-like atmosphere, the interaction with older adults and the staff�s nurturing disposition have made Kevin�s recovery (from hip surgery) the best that it could possibly be. We have been pleased that Grandma�s House encourages visitation from family and friends, creating a hospitable environment for the parents and a greater comfort level for the child.�

Zander Colson�s mother Jennifer says, �Before placing Zander at Grandma�s House I toured two other pediatric facilities. The other facilities did not remotely possess the love and family environment which Grandma�s House has. Our entire family is blessed that there is a facility like Grandma�s House, and that their staff is so loving and caring. They truly are committed to bringing a better life to all of the special children.�

Remarkably, despite the chronic nature of some of the individuals living in Grandma�s House, the environment is far from medical. Hallways are lined with shadow boxes, rooms are personalized with family photos, quilts and house plants, pets roam the hallways, the living room is filled with toys, and an outdoor sensory garden and playground delight the senses. The home follows the Eden philosophy of creating an environment filled with plants, animals and children to combat loneliness and isolation in long term care.

The success of Grandma�s House is unquestionable. The residents of the community, though not truly related, are more of a family than their own loved ones can sometimes be. By virtue of living together in such close proximity, the elders and the children have developed deep and lasting relationships. The children have built-in grandmas and grandpas willing at any moment to read a bedtime story and tuck their �grandchildren� in at night. What is the essence of this cutting-edge community? Love, love, love.