Realizing the Small Home
September 16 | 12:00-1:00pm EST | Earn 1 LU/HSW
Description
The small home model in skilled nursing settings is evolving to prioritize personalized care and a real home for residents. Demonstrated to improve quality of life, health outcomes, and well-being, this session focuses on how Santa Barbara's Valle Verde is surmounting challenging regulatory environments to create a new model of care. Renowned for its commitment to thoughtful, holistic skilled nursing, Valle Verde was named one of the country’s Best Nursing Homes in 2024. Not satisfied with the status quo, they embarked on a journey to reimagine care by designing a building that embraces the small home model. This endeavor required participation in a Small House Skilled Nursing Facilities Pilot Program to obtain necessary flexibility from both the state Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAi, formerly OSHPD) and the California Department of Public Health. As the only community currently participating in the program, Valle Verde hopes to set the bar and encourage others to follow suit. Participants will hear from the Architect and Valle Verde’s Executive Director about how operations and design came together to realize this vision. The experience offers lessons for other communities and will cover challenges and opportunities for innovation.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the evolution and principles of the household model in skilled nursing settings, emphasizing resident-centered care and homelike environments.
- Understand Valle Verde’s approach to implementing the household model, including architectural considerations, staff training strategies, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Evaluate the benefits of the household model at Valle Verde, such as enhanced resident satisfaction, improved staff morale, and positive health outcomes.
- Apply lessons learned from Valle Verde’s experience to enhance care practices in other senior living communities considering or implementing the household model in skilled nursing.
Speakers
Alexis Burck, AIA, NCARB
Alexis Burck leads SmithGroup’s award-winning Senior Living studio. With over 24 years of experience, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of architectural practice, having spent her career building great teams delivering community health care, senior living, and affordable housing design. She serves as the AIA Design for Aging Knowledge Community Advisory Group Co-Chair and is a former board member for the Fund for Elders’ Independence, an Oakland-based PACE program serving low-income seniors in the Bay Area. Alexis graduated with high honors from Carleton College with a Bachelor of Arts and went on to get a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley.
Melissa Honig
Melissa Honig’s passion began at 12 when she committed to creating a better life for elders. After 30 years in the field she is now the ED at Valle Verde, a HumanGood Life Plan Community in Santa Barbara, serving more than 400 residents and 300 team members. Previously, Melissa was VP, Clinical Services at ABHOW, and worked as a Project Guide for The Green House Project, a national program transforming institutional long-term care. She is proud to be a Leading Age Academy Graduate, Chair of the Leading Age CA Los Padres Region, Eden Alternative Associate, Mentor, and Licensed Nursing Home Administrator.