The core concept of The Eden Alternative is strikingly simple. We must teach ourselves to see places where Elders live as habitats for human beings rather than facilities for the frail and elderly. We must learn what Mother Nature has to teach us about vibrant, vigorous living. The bulk of our work to date has been in de-institutionalizing the culture and environment of today’s nursing homes and other long term care institutions.
Habitats Nurture vs Institutions Control
Most importantly, Eden teaches us that decisions belong with our Elders, or as close to our Elders as possible. Our Elders want, need, and deserve autonomy over their daily lives. Edenizing homes give it back to them. The traditional institutional model that has been dominant in the care of our Elders has many shortcomings. The plagues of the human spirit run rampant in these cold, sterile, social and physical environments. Our Elders need and deserve an opportunity for a life worth living, not just time spent waiting to die.
Benefits of a Principle-Centered Philosophy
The Eden Alternative is a complete, principle-centered philosophy for culture change. It differs from the programmatic approach (dining program, bathing program, etc.) or the model approach to transformation (neighborhood, household, Green House, etc.) in that it provides a new way of thinking and new values that become the foundation for dramatic and sustainable transformation of the organization and the people who come in contact with the organization. Because it becomes the foundation of everything you do and the way you think, it can then be applied in any organizational or physical model. With those values in place, it can also make any new program easy to apply and proactive.
Some Definitions The Eden Alternative has developed a unique language to help organizations in their culture change journey. For instance, you will see that we use the word Elder quite a bit. We define an Elders as someone who, by virtue of life experience, is here to teach us. By definition, being an Elder has little to do with age. Another word we often use is Care Partner. The Care Partner concept implies a balance of care, an acknowledgement that opportunities to give as well as receive are abundant and experienced by everyone involved in the care relationship. The term Care Partner evens the playing field, as it is often easy to get trapped in a one dimensional experience of the caring relationship. In the Eden Alternative we believe that words make worlds. This is just a sampling of how we invite organizations to change the conversation during their personal, organizational and physical transformation efforts.
People around the world are familiar with the story of Eden - the story of making a world for humans. In this story, the very first place where humans were supposed to live was a beautiful garden - The Garden of Eden. That is the story that inspired the founder of the Eden Alternative, Dr. William Thomas when he began to think about making a better world for our Elders. Shortly after taking a job at the local nursing home, Dr. Thomas was making his rounds one day. He went to see a woman who had a rash on her arm. In his best doctor voice, he leaned down and screamed in her ear, "Hello, I'm Dr. Thomas, what can I do for you today?" He will never forget the beautiful blue eyes that stared up at him as she reached up to draw him closer. And he will never forget the words she whispered, "Doctor, I am so lonely." Those words haunted him for weeks as he searched his medical texts and found nothing. And so he began to think about a different kind of world. He began to think about a true human habitat - a place where humans could live, not just wait to die. And so began the story of The Eden Alternative. A life worth living?
Eden Principles value for any place where people live and work
Although much of the work of The Eden Alternative to date has in helping long-term-care organizations transform their culture and environments, we understand that the core principles of Eden are valuable for any place where people live and work. These ideas and tools can enrich the lives of people everywhere. In an effort to begin to bring our message beyond the walls of the long-term care facility, we have ventured into helping make a life worth living for Elders living at home. You can learn more about our newest program, Eden At Home by clicking here.
In the future, we hope to continue to bring the message, principles, and practices of The Eden Alternative to a broader audience.
We understand that IT IS BETTER TO LIVE IN A GARDEN
How We Serve 
Habitats Nurture vs Institutions Control
Eden Principles value for any place where people live and work
