was fundamental to him. He thought he’d go crazy
without it.
“MywifeusedtosayIwasaloner,butI’mnot.Ijustlike
mytimealone,”hetoldme.Sowhenthetourguidesaid
thattheFlorenceCenterhadsinglerooms,“Isaid,‘You
mustbekidding!’”Thetourhadonlybegunandalready
he was sold.
Then theguide took them through it.They calledthe
placeaGreenHouse.Hedidn’tknowwhatthatmeant.
Allheknewwas,“Itdidn’tlooklikeanursinghometo
me.”
“What did it look like?” I asked.
“A home,” he said.
ThatwasthedoingofBillThomas.Afterlaunchingthe
Eden Alternative, he had grown restless. He was by
temperament a serial entrepreneur, though withoutthe
money. He and his wife, Jude, set up a not-for-profit
organizationthathassincetaughttheEdenprinciplesto
people from hundreds of nursing homes. They then
becamecofounders ofthe PioneerNetwork, a kind of
clubforthegrowingnumberofpeoplecommittedtothe
reinvention of elder care. It does not endorse any
particularmodel.Itsimplyadvocatesforchangesthatcan
transformourmedicallydominatedcultureofcareforthe
elderly.
Around2000,Thomasgotanewitch.Hewantedtobuild
ahomefortheelderlyfromthegroundupinsteadof,as
he’ddoneinNewBerlin,fromtheinsideout.Hecalled
whathewantedtobuildaGreenHouse.Theplanwasfor