By Lisa Rademakers

THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“Extended care is often organized to meet the needs of the providers, who need to deliver large amounts of care and service,” says Bill Russell, M.D., regional medical director and vice president of Erickson HealthSM.

That is why traditionally, extended care residences have been based on a medical model and look like hospitals.

But more than 50,000 extended care organizations across the U.S.—16,000 certified nursing care and 39,000  assisted living facilities—are witnessing a wave of change. That change is occurring as baby boomers look for more personalized settings for their parents, and think ahead to their own care. In response, extended care residences are beginning to look less like hospitals and more like homes.

Intimate settings create culture change

This active pursuit of a person-centered approach in long-term care is just one more example of the foresight of the Erickson Health system, which serves Monarch Landing. as well as all other Erickson retirement communities. “We’re calling it a ‘household model.’ The physical design and features are based on the idea that, if you have it in your house, we have it here,” says Mark McElwee, vice president of Renaissance Gardens, the extended care neighborhood in Erickson communities. “People can open the refrigerator and grab a snack any time, just as they would in their own home.”

These new facilities are more intimate, with a smaller resident-to-staff ratio. That means nurses—Erickson Health calls them “household associates”—have more time to learn the individual preferences of residents and get to know them on a personal level. “Relationships develop between household associates and residents,” McElwee says.

Person-centered approach