Meet Deupree House Executive Director Nichole McCaughey: A Q&A
Sep 20, 2022
Imagine a nursing home where residents receive the highest quality of care and are encouraged to take charge of their day and make their own decisions — all delivered in a comfortable household setting.
That’s what a nursing home should be. It’s what the Deupree Cottages are. We take the institution out of long-term caregiving, and it changes everything for everyone involved — the residents, their families, and our staff.
From the private rooms and cozy fireplaces to the open kitchens and common areas, Deupree Cottages is unlike any nursing home you have probably ever seen. Our person-centered care approach allows Cottage residents to live here on their terms, free from restrictive routines. Unless there is a valid medical reason that would be a problem, residents choose their wake-up times, what and when they would like to eat, and what activities they want to participate in.
We have seen remarkable clinical improvements in this environment even for those who have been withdrawn or physically impaired for some time before they came to live here. Most of all, residents live with dignity and respect in an environment that offers freedom, choice, and purpose — with high-quality care provided by an experienced, compassionate, and specially trained professional staff.
As a validation of what we consider our “best in class” status among nursing homes, Deupree Cottages was one of only six American nursing homes to be featured in the 2012 book, Design for Aging: International Case Studies of Building and Program, for our “excellent aged-care environment.” We have also received high resident satisfaction ratings in state surveys.
The Deupree Cottages are designed in two very distinct ways. Read below to learn about each of our luxurious cottages.
We took cues from the surrounding neighborhood to design the Craftsman-style cottage. In keeping with the Tudor and Cottage-style homes of Hyde Park, the Craftsman Cottage reflects the “arts and crafts” era of the 1920s. It’s rich color palette and stone façade evoke a warm Cincinnati feel. Inside, the furnishings are warm and inviting with earth tones and rustic finishes. Even the accessories, down to hand-crafted potteries and a tree-branch floor lamp, are in keeping with the Craftsman style throughout the cottage.
The Colonial-style cottage mirrors the look of traditional homes all around Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Crisp white-painted woodwork and a classic “butter and blue” décor make you feel as though you haven’t left your own home. The cottage’s exterior finishes were selected with this Colonial theme in mind – rich red brick and painted yellow siding. Inside, the furnishings have a traditional, well-traveled air. The accessories, such as Asian-inspired porcelains and grandchildren’s silhouettes, are true to the traditions of a colonial home.
Person-Centered Care is the common thread running throughout all of ERS's communities. Driven by a desire to exceed normal caregiving practices, Person-Centered Care provides staff with the tools needed to interact with people on a higher level of empathy and understanding.
At Deupree Cottages, residents enjoy life much as they always have. They choose when to wake up in the morning and when to go to bed at night, when to eat their meals, when to bathe and get dressed, and what activities to participate in each day.
ERS’s person-centered care approach is what sets its communities apart from the rest. Gone is the institutional atmosphere. In its place, ERS communities including the Cottages look and feel like home to our residents. And while residents remain our focus, the person-centered care approach is also employed in staff’s daily interactions with each other, too.
Our team has always gone the extra mile to treat residents with respect and loving care, but Person-Centered Care allows us to provide a level of freedom and personal choice previously not practiced in a nursing care environment. And when a person is allowed to make their own choices, they can approach each day with purpose and meaning – resulting in a truly remarkable atmosphere that knows no comparison.
