Future Age – March/April 2010 - 12

money even on the ones that were filled.” Brooks remembered hearing about a chain that had built group homes in residential neighborhoods to care for early dementia residents. Because of their size, the homes could be licensed in a category that had minimal regulation. This kept costs low and allowed for homelike features including a residential kitchen. Brethren Care Village decided to try a similar approach on its campus by combining adjacent cottages into five-bedroom ranch style homes. The first “Bradford House” opened in 2006, and the community has since added two more. A fourth is planned for next year. Each Bradford House is designed for five residents, and there is a homemaker on site 24 hours a day. The front door is secured through keypad access; the other doors lead to an enclosed courtyard.

Brethren Care Village

The Bradford Houses at Brethren Care Village were created by combining pairs of independent living cottages—which had been plagued by low occupancy—into five-bedroom homes for early dementia residents, each with homemakers on duty at all times. The new service model solved the cottages’ financial problems and offered a new level of service to seniors.

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We are doing that with this PACE program [the Center for Senior Independence PACE] with the Henry Ford Health System. The Health System will have a 55 percent control and we’ll have a 45 percent control. We’ve heard of situations where a 50-50 arrangement can be difficult when parties get to an impasse, but we haven’t experienced a major impasse that we’ve gotten stuck with. There is merit to thinking through [how] to resolve a dispute if it occurs. But we go into this with everyone having the same spirit. FA: Since the Brush Park project, PVM has increased its locations in inner-city Detroit to six. What kind of partnerships have those involved? RM: In Detroit, five of the six have a partner or collaborating organization of one sort or another. At the Village of Oakman Manor, our primary collaborator is Focus: Hope. It’s known around the world for its work on civic reconciliation and education; it was formed after the 1967 riots in Detroit by a Catholic priest [Fr. William Cunningham, with his cofounder, Eleanor Josaitis]. They approached us about developing senior housing in proximity of their main educational center. They decided they didn’t want to be legally part of ownership, but they do nominate people for the board, and some key staff helped with the development process, and we [found] seven different sources of financing. If Focus: Hope hadn’t been involved, that village would not have been built. They had such great stature and influence, it opened a lot of other doors. FA: When you started with PVM, it was very much a suburban organization, and since then PVM has built a very strong presence in the inner city. Does PVM “feel” the same now—is it an organization

that just happens to have some inner-city locations, or does it feel like something different? RM: It’s a very different organization. It was a very good one before, but it’s even better now as a result of what we’ve done in the city, but more broadly around the state. Prior to 1992 we were just in the suburbs, five communities in a semicircle around Detroit. There was no presence in the outstate area, nothing in the city. Right before I joined … the board decided to change the name to PVM and have a statewide perspective, and as [we] went through an intentional process of diversifying our board in 1993-94 … a few new board members challenged the organization relative to its commitment about Detroit. FA: Based on PVM’s experience, how would you advise other providers looking to develop more of an urban presence? RM: What we found in the city is that the need was incredible, particularly regarding affordable senior housing. I would recommend that any provider do a community needs assessment, go into urban areas where there has been less investment, and determine if there is an opportunity for them to play a role, and then as they do that, take the time to become knowledgeable about the community and key stakeholders, and reach out to those groups and individuals before making a decision. A great deal of listening has to be done, and a sense of collaboration, even if not a true legal collaboration—a sense that the organization coming in from outside is doing so with a lot of respect for the community. If [you are] open to a collaboration or creating an advisory board or some such group, I’d recommend it because it promotes a sense of local ownership.

futureAge | March/April 2010

Future Age – March/April 2010

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