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I just finished reading your article and found it truly inspirational! How fantastic it could be that nursing home residents that are living in the "hospital like" rooms could enjoy such a place if they were physically capable of it. I have worked in a nursing home as a nurse, and my Dad was also a nursing home resident. While I LOVE working with the elderly, I just feel that nursing homes are such sad, gloomy places. Residents must be thinking "this is the end of the road and what an AWFUL road it is!". I think our nursing homes are understaffed, and many nurses are from agencies and don't even know the residents. I say this first hand. The residence don't wear bracelets with their names on them. In the medication book, there is no picture of the resident. So, I was medicating patients that I had to rely on someone identifying them for me. Some of the patients had dementia and couldn't even confirm their name. I found it a dangerous place to work, staff to patient ratio is inadequate and being assigned 30+ patients to medicate and do treatments, dressing changes, etc....wasn't worth losing my license over. And I thought how sad it was - patients waiting in their wheelchairs by the nurse's station to be put to bed- and waiting, and waiting. Because there is not enough staff to do it all. And, that was at a nursing home with a very good reputation. My Mom is 93 years old and still living at home with one of my siblings who cooks and cleans for her. She does not want to go to an Assisted Living- never mind a nursing home. So, while your idea sounds fantastic- is it realistic? What would the cost be? Would they accept Medicare? Everything is always "hush-hush" about nursing home care. What I've told you is the truth from where I have worked, and what I have witnessed. It really is a shame that many of our elderly don't get the respect and treatment they deserve.