PEABODY - Barbara McNutt struggled to live on her own after her husband died. She finally had to move to a nursing facility. But now she's home again.

McNutt is living in the new H.E.A.R.T. House in Peabody, the first house of its kind in the state, designed for a small group of frail elders who would otherwise need nursing home care.

In West Peabody, four newfound friends - including 89-year-old twin sisters from Peabody who are avid Red Sox fans - are living in a small ranch house, staffed with an around-the-clock aide who cleans, cooks meals, does laundry and assists the residents.

"The quality of life is a lot better because people are still in a house, in a neighborhood," said Mike Trigilio, president of Associated Home Care in Beverly, which operates H.E.A.R.T. House. "It costs less, and the care is more personalized."

"We call the dining room the laughing table," said McNutt, 79. "We have so much fun."

For Patrick Donagher, 80, who never married and was living by himself, the house is a godsend.

"I'm here, but I don't believe it," Donagher said. "I've been alone all those years, all by myself. It's very nice to have company."

The H.E.A.R.T. House opened July 22 and stands for Housing Elders At Residence Together. The agencies sponsoring the project have their sights on opening another house in Peabody and one in Beverly. It's a model they'd like to see replicated across the North Shore.

"It provides socialization and decreases depression," said Carol Suleski, director of Elder Service Plan of the North Shore, a H.E.A.R.T. sponsor.

"We're not anti-nursing home. We understand the role that plays," said Rachel Kestner, communications and development specialist for North Shore Elder Services, also a H.E.A.R.T. sponsor, "but we want people to be aware of all the choices."

Susan Taves, a licensed nurse's aide, lives at the house Monday through Thursday and cares for the four seniors. They have become a second family for her, too.

"My kids are grown and have their own children," Taves said. "I just think I lucked out (with this job). They are so happy and so lovable."

Taves cooks the meals from a menu devised by a nutritionist at North Shore Elder Services, who polled the four residents in advance about their favorite foods, which include pot roast and spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread.

"At a large facility, you get what you get," Trigilio said. "Here we can be a little flexible with meals."

The 89-year-old twins, Maxine Davis and Irene O'Sullivan, share a bedroom with matching twin beds, while Donagher and McNutt have their own rooms at the other end of the house. McNutt's room is filled with old photos, and her bed is neatly made with a floral quilt.

"I like my twins," she said of her roommates. "I like to hear them in the morning; they're a riot."

The foursome take in Red Sox games and NASCAR races on television, play chess and cards, use puzzle books, and laugh throughout mealtime. They each have their own cushy recliner in the living room - in brown, red, pink and blue.

"There is a lot of reminiscing and a lot of Red Sox," Taves said with a laugh. "It's funny because Barbara hated baseball when she moved in, and now they're up till 11:30 some nights watching the Red Sox. Then, she makes the twins stay up with the (car) races."

An "alarm" that sounds like a loud, chiming doorbell is rigged to the doors so that Taves will hear if one of the residents wanders outside. The pale yellow ranch house has blue shutters and a neatly clipped thick lawn, bordered by a black chain-link fence.

There is a visiting room in the house - separate from the living room with the television - to provide a place for family members and friends to visit. Already, there have been birthday parties with residents' families on the back patio and bocce games.

"You have that guilt when you leave someone at a nursing home," Kestner said. "It's not like that here."

When McNutt was at a nursing and rehabilitation center, her care cost more than $6,000 per month, according to Suleski, director of Elder Service Plan of the North Shore, where McNutt is a client. Care at H.E.A.R.T. House costs $5,000 per month.

"Having this to bring her to speaks to such a great quality of life - and the bottom line," Suleski said. "It brings down the cost so we have more money to spend on others."

For the H.E.A.R.T. House residents, Social Security covers "rent" of $800, which includes food, housing, utilities and cable, according to Trigilio, and Medicare and Medicaid cover roughly $4,000 a month for their health care needs and services. But he sees the model expanding to private pay, as well.

"Maybe people could pay privately, and it could be a lot more cost-effective than staying in their house," Trigilio said. "You can cut costs in half and stay out of a nursing home twice as long."

The house on Murray Street in West Peabody is a California ranch built on a concrete slab, which is an ideal setting because there are no interior stairs and no front steps. Trigilio said the home required minor modifications, such as installing a handicapped-accessible shower.

"We're not tearing anything down - this recycles what is here already," Suleski said, "and we don't want to see a lot of regulations that take that homeyness away."

The groups relied on donations from local businesses to help furnish the home, including Marshalls, Bob's, Building 191/2 and Target.

The program was spearheaded through a grant received by Mass Home Care, an association of nonprofit agencies. There are 13 elderly people on a waiting list to move into future H.E.A.R.T. Houses, and that's just among clients of North Shore Elder Services and Elder Service Plan of the North Shore.

Earlier this week, Patrick Donagher serenaded a small crowd in the living room with his harmonica, using a tea cup from a Chinese food restaurant in his other hand for vibrato. Everyone clapped when he finished a tune

"You couldn't ask for four people who got along better," said Robyn Nathan, housing services coordinator for North Shore Elder Services.

H.E.A.R.T. monitor

For more information about H.E.A.R.T. House and future residences, visit www.associatedhomecare.com or use the following contact information:

* North Shore Elder Services

* Elder Service Plan of the North Shore

* Elder Home Options, 978-395-6919