The Neighborhoods at St. Elizabeth

Charmaine Scalley gets a drink at the snack station that is accessible 24 hours a day.

Any observer of the Neighborhoods at St. Elizabeth’s can see that the recent changes extend beyond renovations.“We no longer operate like a hospital,” says Administrator in Training Nate Sweeney of the center’s departure from following the traditional nursing home model. In its place is a person-centered approach with an environment that creates a home. In the words of Administrator Christine Mour: “Instead of fitting elders into our schedule of convenience and efficiency, staff now accommodates the elder’s natural rhythm of doing things.”

Despite already having a reputation for providing excellent care, sound fiscal management, and high patient satisfaction, management assessed that a change was needed. “We just knew that the institution model was not the right answer because nobody wants to live in a hospital,” says Sweeney.

Mour says that this new prototype helps combat the three plagues of aging: helplessness, loneliness, and boredom. “Elders now have more control of their lives, determining when, what, and with whom they want to eat as well as when they wish to sleep, socialize, and for how long,” she says. To support this independence, numerous physical changes have been made.

Each wing is a Neighborhood with a name: Abram’s Avenue, Esther’s Court, Joseph’s Way, Sarah’s Circle, and Noah’s Place for memory care residents. When entering each floor, visitors now see a spacious living room that replaces the former nursing station. “The idea behind the change is that this is their home and we the staff are visitors,” says Mour. The two Neighborhood living rooms on each floor are inviting places to gather with amenities that include an electric fireplace, a wall-mounted flat screen  television and entertainment center. No two areas are the same, with colors and furnishings selected by the elders to create individualized spaces.

The nurse’s station that holds electronic files has been moved to a nook in the adjoining hallway. “We’ve removed artificial barriers between patients and staff to allow personal interaction,” says Sweeney.

Mail is delivered to mailboxes that are mounted outside each room, allowing elders to engage in a routine activity.

Meals are served in a new dining room five times a day from a food station that offers assorted entrées. Three chefs have replaced the former food service, eliciting rave reviews from the elders. Snacks and drinks are accessible 24 hours a day in a side area of the dining hall.

Beyond each living room is a covered porch. Additional draws to the outdoors are a memory garden (for Noah’s Place elders) that’s in bloom 10 months out of the year, a therapy garden that is under construction, and an expansive pavilion where a recent picnic was held for elders and their families. In the memory garden elders can safely wander and their families can plant flowers. The therapy garden will have different terrains where elders can practice walking or navigating their wheelchairs. “Here elders can set goals of moving from a bench or flower bed with the ability to see how far they have come,” says Mour.

Since implementing the changes, staff members have hosted many visitors who were anxious to see the theory in practice.

“We set out to create an environment that was warm, inviting, and most of all, a place where our elders would thrive. Judging from our observations and from the feedback that we’ve been given, we’ve been successful,” says Mour.

St. Elizabeth’s welcomes your interest. For further information on the Neighborhoods, please contact Steven Meehan, Director of Admissions, at 410-644-7100.

“I’m most impressed with the great love and devotion of the staff towards the residents of the St. Elizabeth Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. There’s certainly a spirit of warmth that purveys this very homelike setting. One would feel most confident in having a loved one reside here.”
—Most Reverend Denis J. Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore on a recent tour of the Neighborhoods.

“We had a very warm feeling from day one and we just knew this was the right place for Mom. Everyone who works here is very kind and
they take such good care of her. Mom is so joyful all the time and she calls it home, which means the world to us.”
—Colette Wolf says of her mother Mary K. who is a resident of Noah’s Place at St. Elizabeth

The Neighborhoods at St. Elizabeth

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