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Physical Environment

Changing the existing physical environment of a nursing home in ways that improve residents' quality of life and without major expenditures is possible with these tools.

Creating Home in the Nursing Home Environment

Explores ways in which nursing homes can be designed to reflect house and operated to reflect a home

Designing Gardens to Attract Activity

This white paper written by Maggie Calkins with financial support from WhisperGLIDE, focuses on the importance of outdoor spaces and explores how to design areas where people want to spend time. Resources for getting started are also included.

Household Models for Nursing Home Environments

Provides information about the household model vs. the traditional institutional nursing home

Just in Time Toolkit – Environment

These toolkits highlight helpful implementation resources, identify relevant regulations and point providers to results to help them find just the right path for their organization in each of three areas, environment change, dining transformations and staffing transformations

Lighting: Partner in Quality Care Environments

Describes the importance of adequate lighting in senior living environments

Low Cost Strategies to Transform Nursing Home Environments: Towards Better Quality of Life

Describes low cost ways that a nursing home’s physical environment can be transformed to create home for the people that live there

Nursing Homes as Places to Live Now and in the Future

Discusses the physical environment of the traditional institutional nursing home and makes recommendations for change

Private vs Shared Bedrooms

Illustrates the case for private vs. shared bedrooms

The Environmental Side of the Culture Change Movement: Symposium Background

Provides the history of the culture change movement as it pertains to the physical environment, a summary of current research into building design issues and innovations, and a review of relevant federal long term care and Life Safety Code regulations for nursing homes