Community Elder Care
How might we, as a community, guarantee that our elders are treated with kindness and compassion when they are no longer able to live independently, and find themselves in need of constant care?
The quality and consistency of care varies in nursing homes, and for workers these are stressful and, at times, exploitative environments. Many nursing
homes are funded by state reimbursements, yet are run by for-profit corporations that are not motivated to funnel returns back into the properties and operations.
If we are so fortunate as to reach old age, any one of us could find our last years spent in a nursing home. Ensuring that these are affordable, pleasant, safe, and caring institutions is a goal of Cooperation Humboldt, and the impetus for a new initiative, Community Elder Care. We are proposing to launch a
skilled nursing facility that empowers workers, preserves affordability, and provides superior elder care through a unique business model that also ensures community accountability.
Community Elder Care would leverage the Community Land Trust model to protect the affordability of nursing home properties. A nonprofit land trust would own and maintain the properties, with a board of directors tasked with oversight of the facilities. They would contract with a care team to run the facility, consisting of a care providers' cooperative that would be owned, organized and managed by nurses and other care workers. By eliminating corporate management and profit margins, Community Elder Care facilities would leverage state reimbursements to ensure better facilities maintenance and resident programs, and workers would benefit by better staffing policies and wages. We are in the early stages of developing this business model and are excited by the opportunities.
If you work in skilled nursing and are excited by the possibilities described here, please contact us.