My mother had a stroke in mid-April, and I have been dealing with her and the consequences of the stroke since that time. A few days ago I reluctantly decided that she would not be able to live at home any more and I started looking at group homes as an alternative to assisted care facilities.

As I looked into the homes, it occurred to me that this could be an alternative for pwp. Some enterprising people in health care could start some specializing in Parkinson's. In my search I noticed an RN was listed as owner of several group homes. (My mother is now in one that specializes in people with dementia.)

Or this could be something that pwp themselves could do themselves - join up - share resources and create their own place. Everyone with a private room, a common area, and staff on hand 24/7.

Not a new idea, I guess, but one maybe we should consider down the road.

Jean

Jean - many of us have been talking informally about this kind of thing for years now; there seems to be a real desire/need, but it's hard to know where to start. If you or anyone has ideas, please share!

There is a group in Seattle who are trying to build a nursing home specifically for PD; it is a formal 501 C3, but has struggled for years to develop the right concept. They are still trying.

This is, of course, a fabulous idea and IMHO inevitable as the baby boomers -- including many single/divorced baby boomers on limited incomes -- swell the numbers of PWP. The most efficient way to do this is to partner with a nonprofit that already has a proven track record of creating and managing supportive housing for people with disabilities (such as AIDS housing) utilizing a mix of public (HUD or state) and private funding. That way we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we can leverage existing relationships and credibility, and have access to economies of scale. This approach would likely shave about 5 years off of the launch. A project advisory group could include PWP, PD advocate, healthcare professionals, caregiver, etc… Another possibility is to partner with a nonprofit whose focus is the elderly that offers various levels of care (independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, etc). Some already have lowered their age minimums to 55...

Local community foundations can be instrumental in identifying the right people to invite to the table.

Now that my mother's dementia has progressed to the point that she cannot live at home - I found a group home for her to live in.

And the idea of group homes got me thinking - what about individual group homes for PWP? Maybe places for aging PWP could start on a small scale - one house at a time. One scenario could have individual PWP getting together to purchase a one story house, do a little renovation to make sure each bedroom has an en suite bathroom. And then bring in licensed health care professionals to work for the residents. Or two couples could purchase a house that was built with "two master bedrooms," and they could then hire health care professionals to come to their home.

As I was searching for a place for my mother, I read about this pair of sisters (in Arizona) who have several care homes in my area. These ladies could be contacted about how they set up their business. Or maybe this could work for franchise type business where nurses or elder care specialists can learn how to set up homes for PWP and take care of its residents.

http://cedarsanctuary.com/about/

Jean