A Pennsylvania operator is bringing the small-house concept popular with nursing homes to senior living.
Rosette, a single-family home in Gladwyne, PA, is similar to other small-house living communities, such as those developed by the Green House Project, founder Therese Farrow Southwell told the McKnight’s Business Daily. But there’s one significant difference.
“There are similarities in the family concept, yes. However, Rosette is actually located and zoned in a residential neighborhood, not just built to resemble one,” she said. “The Fair Housing Act allows disabled people to live and receive care as a group, in a real home, and not be forced into the commercial areas of town.”
The personal care home has been updated and repurposed as a fully licensed care community to house eight immobile or otherwise disabled older adults to allow them to live and receive assistance together as a group. Rosette is inspired by a “pod”-like senior living concept found on the West Coast.
Trained caregivers, including an on-site nurse, are meant to ensure the safety, well-being and engagement of residents. Rosette also partnered with home palliative care, home hospice care, and mobile medical services providers.
The restored single-family home is completely walker- and wheelchair-compatible. The individual bedrooms each have a private, ADA-compliant bathroom. Meals are made daily from scratch in a household kitchen, and residents are able to take part in the cooking process if they wish.
“Rosette feels like home because it is a home,” Southwell said in a statement. “We specifically designed Rosette to recreate the feel of family in a peaceful, secure environment for families that struggle to find the right solution for their disabled loved ones. Nothing at Rosette is clinical or institutional.”
In fact, staff members don’t wear scrubs or name tags.
Rosette’s small-house model has an advantage over larger care communities, Southwell said, in that it can offer a four-to-one resident/patient-to-caregiver ratio.
“With only eight residents, our team can become companions more than just task oriented caregivers,” she said.
