Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

by Atul Gawande

NewBridge allowed its residents to have pets but didn’t actively bring them in, the way Bill Thomas’s Eden Alternative had, and so animals hadn’t become a significant part of life there. But children had. NewBridge shared its grounds with a private school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and the two places had become deeply intertwined. Residents who didn’t need significant assistance worked as tutors and school librarians. When classes studied World War II, they met with veterans who gave firsthand accounts of what they were studying in their texts. Students came in and out of NewBridge daily, as well. The younger students held monthly events with the residents—art shows, holiday celebrations, or musical performances. Fifth and sixth graders had their fitness classes together with the residents. Middle schoolers were taught how to work with those who have dementia and took part in a buddy program with the nursing home residents. It was not unusual for children and residents to develop close individual relationships. One boy who befriended a resident with advanced Alzheimer’s was even asked to speak at the man’s funeral.