Council on Aging Senior Guide 2013 - 66

COUNCIL ON AGING ORANGE COUNTY

Transforming Long-Term Care Environments
n Eden Alternative® What began as a set of principles to eliminate the plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom has grown into a powerful model for ongoing growth and development. A leading example of this philosophy is the Eden Alternative. The Eden Alternative is well-known for its original mission to transform the organizational culture of nursing homes and other institutional settings. This “cultural change” is the common name for a global initiative focused on transforming care, as we know it, for elders and individuals living with frailty and disability. It advocates for a shift from institutional models of care to person-directed values and practices that put the person first. Person-directed care is structured around the unique needs, preferences, and desires of the individual in question. Through this approach, decisions and actions around care honor the voices and choices of care recipients and those working most closely with them. Core person-directed values include choice, dignity, respect, self-determination and purposeful living. Culture change values drive the transformation
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of both long and short-term living environments, as well as home and community-based settings. The transformation process involves changes in personal growth, the development of relationships, organizational practices, and physical environments at all levels and in all workforce models. The ultimate goal of culture change is better outcomes and quality of life for all involved in the giving and receiving of care. As a comprehensive culture change model, The Eden Alternative focuses on creating elder-centered communities — wherever elders live — that thrive on close and continuing relationships, meaningful interactions, opportunities to give as well as receive, and a rich and diverse daily life. Elder-centered communities are places where treatment is the servant of genuine human caring. Elders are the daily decision-makers, and where wise leaders grow other leaders. 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 young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living. For more information about the Eden Alternative visit their website at www.edenalt.org.

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http://www.edenalt.org

Council on Aging Senior Guide 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Council on Aging Senior Guide 2013