Tupelo Green House^® Study

      Four Green Houses were built by Mississippi Methodist Senior Services to replace part of its of 140-bed skilled nursing facility; they were located in a residential section of Traceway Retirement Community in Tupelo, MS, which is also the corporate headquarters Mississippi Methodist Senior Services.  The four Green Houses were occupied by residents of the existing nursing home: 2 of them by the residents of the locked dementia special care unit, which then closed; and 2 of them by residents in the general nursing home. See where Tupelo has appeared in the popular press.

      We conducted a multifaceted evaluation of the Green Houses at Tupelo, using a quasi-experimental design with 2 comparison settings. Outcomes experienced by residents, residents’ family members, and front-line staff were measured at baseline and 3 follow-up intervals, each 6 months apart.  We also compared Quality Indicators in the 3 settings using MDS-derived data, and we conducted intensive observational studies of the physical environments in the Green Houses and how they were used.

     The positive findings for this evaluation are described in several published articles, and manuscripts under review.  See Publications and Research Reports.

     By 2006, Methodist Senior Services opened 6 more Green Houses and shrunk its traditional nursing home to 24 beds.  We conducted a follow-up qualitative study of issues in sustaining the Green House innovation and expanding its scale.  See Research Report.