COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OF A RURAL NURSING-HOME

Based on an ethnographic case study of Mountain View, a rural nursing home, the stereotype of the nursing home as an environment separated f rom its community context is challenged Participant observation and re peated in-depth semistructured interviews with residents, family membe rs, and staff over a period of two years, and interviews with communit y officials reveal that the nursing home is historically economically, socially, and psychologically integrated within the local setting. A high level of community integration is manifest in the permeability of the walls of the facility. Many residents are able to retain strong t ies within the community through trips outside the facility and asa re sult of community involvement in activities at the nursing home. Most important, the community integration of Mountain View allows residents to maintain a temporal continuity in their lives. High levels of comm unity integration may enable nursing homes to play an expanded role in the rural long-ten care continuum.