ST. LOUIS — As COVID-19 continues to damage the senior living industry, officials at a Lake St. Louis nursing home are praising its small, “green house” format in avoiding coronavirus infections and deaths.
The Cottages at Lake St. Louis, located at 2885 Technology Dr., has six small homes each with only 10 residential units that are occupied by only one resident. Suites have their own bathrooms and showers, and each home has a kitchen and living area with meals and laundry done by dedicated staff members.
The “green house” model, according to CEO Al Beamer, has helped the Cottages stave off COVID-19. The nursing home has had no coronavirus deaths and no infections since April.
“In the 1960s, Volkswagen had a famous advertising slogan: ‘Think Small,’” he said. “Suddenly, being small is relevant again, even critical.”
In many nursing homes, two or more residents may share a single room or bathroom, greatly increasing the chance of spreading an infection. On top of the close proximity of residents, typical nursing homes have hundreds of beds in rooms that are located next to one another. The close quarters have proved deadly for many seniors in nursing homes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the pandemic’s death toll at nursing homes and other senior living facilities topped 50,000 this week. However, “green house” nursing homes reported only six deaths from Covid-19 as of May 21, according to the New York Times sourcing information from the Green House Project.
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