Back to Eden

Abstract

Administrator Kelly Pidgeon explained that this started as a summertime convenience for staff with children from 8 to 13 years old, because you can't leave them at home, but they don't want to be at camp all day. Thomas and several colleagues described the pilot project and lessons learned thus far. Leaders of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, pleased by the pilot project, awarded a grant of $10 million to a development corporation to establish more Green Houses around the country. While Thomas and his colleagues acknowledge that the Green House is "not the only way" to go, they suggest it may be ideal in three cases: when a nursing home has an old building that needs replacement; when a retirement community needs to add a nursing facility; and when a group wants "a dementia-specific care unit."