Local Health Publication Highlights Small Homes
The May 2016 issue of In Good Health features an article by Ernst Lamothe, Jr. that takes an extended look into the Small Homes Project at St. John’s Home. Opened in 1960, St. John’s Home is in the midst of transitioning floors throughout the 150 Highland Avenue location to small neighborhoods with the goal of providing a greater level of personalized care and attention for our elders.
An excerpt from the article:
Cherie Palmer, a St. John’s nurse, loves the new environment at her facility. She has been in the profession for quite some time and views this structure as the best in her career, including nurses and residents eating together.
“I came from the old-school philosophy that if you were eating with your residents, that meant you weren’t working hard enough and it was going to be negative on you as an employee,” said Palmer. “Residents do feel like this is their home and not a nursing home. We have to understand that seniors feel like so much has been taken away. They have lost so much when they have to leave their original homes and go to longer-term care. We are here to give them back a sense of ownership.”