Celebrating the Season of Care with Family and Community Caregivers
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. /Massachusetts Newswire – National News/ — As the holidays bring moments of connection, AgingIN is recognizing the caregivers and elders who preserve the comfort and continuity of home in long-term care. Caregiving touches nearly every family, with millions of Americans providing support to loved ones, often while balancing jobs, children, and their own health. AgingIN, home to THE GREEN HOUSE® Project and Pioneer Network, celebrates these families and the AgingIN-associated professional care teams that are built for person-directed living.
Green House and “small house” homes prioritize the needs and wishes of older adults and are considered the “gold standard” for long-term skilled nursing care. Green House homes’ household model embraces person-centered care, individual choice, and close personal attention. Homes are led by one or two “Shahbazim”, as the head of household, with a nurse supporting 10 to 12 elders with private rooms and baths, plus shared spaces that feel like a true home, not an institutional facility. This flips the medical model upside down and enables consistent, cross-trained care partners to cook, support daily life, and build close ties with elders and families who lead the households.
“Together, the deep relationship that exists between caregiver and resident is core to who we are, and the link between elders and care partners is an inseparable link. As a result, both elders and care partners benefit, grow and thrive,” said Susan Ryan, CEO of AgingIN.
At the Porter Hills Village Green House Home in Grand Rapids, Mich., a community of Brio Living Services, those bonds show up in everyday moments. Francisco Rivera, a certified nursing assistant and scheduling coordinator who has supported elders there for 16 years, remembers learning to cook alongside one resident who noticed his interest and invited him into the kitchen before his shift. Together they planned dinners, practiced new skills, and turned meal prep into a shared routine. Rivera still makes the acorn squash and meatloaf she taught him to make, dishes he had never tried before working in the home, and meals that now connect his own life to the elder who helped shape it.
HELPING DURING THE HOLIDAYS
Rivera says the holidays bring that same spirit of partnership to the forefront.
“We help elders contact their families and set up visits, reserve spaces in the house for larger gatherings, and make sure they are rested and feeling their best before company arrives,” he said. “We also ask elders what they want on the holiday menu and prepare it the way they like it. Families often bring their favorite dishes from home, and we all share the space together.”
As the season turns toward winter holidays and New Year’s celebrations, AgingIN encourages communities and families to support caregivers with the following tips:
* Check in regularly and ask what would help most, not what you assume people in your care need.
* Offer specific help, for example, taking a shift with errands, bringing a meal, or sitting with a loved one so the person providing care can rest.
* Include caregivers in holiday plans, while also giving them permission to step back when they are exhausted.
* Share gratitude out loud, in front of elders and families, because recognition reduces burnout.
* If you are visiting a loved one in a care community, partner with the care team by communicating early about schedules, food traditions, and what will make the visit comfortable for everyone.
Ryan shares, “Caregiving is a relationship, and this support works best when it flows in both directions. These partnerships are the heart of quality care and the reason holidays in Green House homes feel like family, because in many ways they are.”
Communities like Brio Living Services, which operate small house and Green House homes, enjoy greater professional care stability because the settings are more personally satisfying. Francisco has worked with Brio for nearly two decades and likes providing person-centered care. “My coworkers and elders have taught me so much during my time at Brio. I love that here, we have a voice.”
ABOUT AGINGIN
AgingIN is the National Coordinating Center for culture transformation in long-term care. As home to the Green House Project and Pioneer Network, AgingIN equips providers, care teams, and communities with education, research, and practical tools to advance person-directed living. Together, we work to create care environments where older adults thrive-and where care professionals find purpose and pride in their work. Learn more and join IN at: https://aginginnovation.org/.
ABOUT BRIO LIVING SERVICES
Building on a foundation of serving older adults since 1906, Brio Living Services, formerly UMRC & Porter Hills, is a faith-based, nonprofit organization whose mission is: Welcoming all, partnering together, enriching lives. Its vision is: A world in which all are empowered to age well. Brio Living Services represents the second largest nonprofit senior living organization in Michigan and serves the most economically diverse population of older adults. With a tradition of exceptional quality and a commitment to cutting-edge care, Brio Living Services and its affiliates serve approximately 8,000 older adults each year, from 23 locations and service lines, across 22 counties in Michigan’s lower peninsula. 734.433.1000 | 616.949.4975 | https://MyBrio.org/.
Learn More: https://aginginnovation.org/
This version of news story was published on and is Copr. © 2025 Massachusetts Newswire™ (MassachusettsNewswire.com) – part of the Neotrope® News Network, USA – all rights reserved.
Information is believed accurate but is not guaranteed. For questions about the above news, contact the company/org/person noted in the text and NOT this website.
NEWS SOURCE: AgingIN. Story was sourced from a press release issued by Send2Press® and used with permission. View the original story at: https://www.send2press.com/wire/cooking-connection-and-care-agingin-spotlights-the-person-directed-living-difference/
