We recently went through a huge culture change, moving away from the old medical model of long-term-care to the more holistic approach in caring for those we serve. In our never ending search to care for those entrusted to our care, Thornapple Manor has moved away from the more traditional model of care to the Eden Model that cares for social, spiritual as well as the medical needs of the patients.

What is Eden

What is the Eden Alternative?
The Eden Alternative is an innovative philosophy of long-term care. The foundation of this philosophy is based on the belief that loneliness, helplessness and boredom are the three plagues of long-term care and account for most of the suffering experienced in today’s long-term care settings.

Through implementation of the principles of Eden, homes can create vibrant living and working environments for its elders and staff thus eliminating the three plagues.

Eden envisions long-term care as a habitat where people can continue to live and learn rather than an institution for the frail and elderly. It’s a shift from the medical model towards the human habitat social model of care.

The Eden Alternative Principles

1. The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our elders.
2. An Elder-centered community commits to creating a Human Habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.
3. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
4. An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
5. An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.
6. Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.
7. Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
8. An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.
9. Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
10. Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.

THORNAPPLE MANOR CELEBRATES ITS EDEN ALTERNATIVE REGISTRY
In recognition of Thornapple Manor’s commitment to create a “Human Habitat”, in which residents can enjoy variety and spontaneity in their daily lives, the Eden Alternative organization has honored Thornapple Manor by recognizing Thornapple Manor on the Eden Alternative Registry, a listing that includes only 270 other homes throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Thornapple Manor is striving to create communities that eliminate the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom within the long-term-care setting, and restore autonomy to our residents in their daily lives.

“We are proud to be an Eden Alternative Registered Home, and recognize that the Eden Alternative is a journey and not a destination”, stated Jim DeYoung, Administrator. “True community is found in the struggle to build lasting, meaningful relationships. That is a never-ending process. Our residents need, and deserve, an opportunity for a life worth living, not just to spend time wiling away the hours."

The Eden Alternative is a powerful tool for improving the quality of life for residents in long-term-care settings, and for recapturing a meaningful working life for their caregivers.

Founded in 1991 by Dr. William Thomas, a Harvard-educated physician and Board Certified Geriatrician, the Eden Alternative now claims over 10,000 Associates, and 270 registered homes in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. The management and staff of these homes, including Thornapple Manor, continue to work toward meaningful culture change through ongoing training and a continued dedication to making life better for those entrusted to our care.

The core concept of the Eden Alternative is strikingly simple. We must teach ourselves to see places where our residents live, as habitats for human beings rather than facilities for the frail and elderly. It shows us how the opportunity to give meaningful care to other living things, such as plants and companion animals, as well as the variety and spontaneity that mark an enlivened community, can succeed where pills and therapies fail. It also shows us how real leaders can create a warm culture that is characterized by optimism, trust, generosity, and teamwork to make a better world for our residents.

Most importantly, the Eden Alternative teaches us that decisions belong with our residents, or as close to our residents as possible. Long-term-care residents want, need, and deserve autonomy over their daily lives. Edenizing restores it back to them.

To learn more about the Eden Alternative, pleave visit http://www.edenalt.org/