What Is A Green House®?
The Green House® is a residential home for a group of elders. It is a place that focuses on life, and its heart is found in the relationships that flourish there.

A radical departure from traditional skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities, Green House® alters facility size, interior design, staffing methods, and methods of delivering skilled professional services. Developed by Dr. William Thomas and rooted in the tradition of the Eden Alternative, a model for cultural change within nursing facilities, the Green House® is intended to de-institutionalize long-term care by eliminating large nursing facilities and creating habilitating, social settings. Its primary purpose is to serve as a place where elders can receive assistance and support with activities of daily living and clinical care, without the assistance and care becoming the focus of their existence.

The Floor Plan
The Green House® is designed to be a home for eight to ten elders. Its blends architecturally with neighboring homes, includes vibrant outdoor space, and utilizes aesthetically appealing interior features. The first Green House® were designed by Richard McCarty, the McCarty Company, in Tupelo, Mississippi. McCarty and Dr. Thomas collaborated to create an environment that would be a home to the elders. The result was a home where each elder has a private living space with a private bathroom. Elders' rooms receive high levels of sunlight and are situated around the hearth, an open kitchen and dining area. While adhering to all codes required by licensure, Green Houses® look and feel like home.

• Basic Floor Plan (pdf 262 KB)       • Room Details (pdf 1,115 KB)

• Staffing Details (pdf 14 KB)

The small size of the Green House® promotes less use of wheelchairs. The elders are free from the limitations of an institutional schedule and lives a comfortable daily life - sleeping, eating, and engaging activities as they choose. Meals are prepared in the kitchen and served at a large single dining table where staff, elders and visitors enjoy a pleasant dining experience called Convivium. This is characterized by good fresh food, a well set table often with music and flowers, and good conversation with people who care about one another. Meal times can be over an hour and appetites are good.

Dr. William H. Thomas is an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. He currently serves as a president of The Center for Growing and Becoming, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing constructive, holistic approaches to aging and the care of elders. He is also president of The Eden Alternative, a research, consulting, and advocacy group committed to improving the care received by people who live in institutions everywhere.

Board certified in family medicine and geriatrics, Dr. Thomas lives in upstate New York where he serves as Assistant Clinical Professor in Family Medicine for Upstate Medical Center.

What Are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World is the third book by Dr. Thomas. It was written under a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is actively supporting his work in this area. Life Worth Living, which was published in 1996, was named "Book of the Year" by the American Journal of Nursing. His second book, Learning From Hannah, was published in 1999. It was recognized as a finalist in visionary fiction by Independent Publisher.

In conjunction with his earlier books and projects, Dr. Thomas has been interviewed by a broad range of television, radio and print media including CNN, 48 Hours, NPR, Fast Company, Washington Post, and Newsweek Magazine.