Bringing the Principles and Practices of the Eden Alternative  to Home and Community-Based Care

The mission of The Eden Alternative extends past the walls of the nursing home with Eden at Home (EAH). As an initiative of the Eden Alternative, EAH captures the essence and successes of the Eden Alternative's Ten Principles  as they apply to improving quality of life for Elders living at home and their care partners. The concept of "home" here relates not only to the home care environment, but also to the Elder's community, to the Elder's world, and how she relates to and interacts with it.  Currently, three EAH initiatives -- The Eden at  Home Series, Embracing Elderhood, and Eden Apprentice Training offer different, but complementary, visions of how communities can ensure a life worth living for themselves and for their Elders.

Even Someone's Home Can Feel Like an Institution If...

• The care partners and care receivers are not empowered
• Spontaneity and variety are absent from daily life
• Diversity & access to companionship are limited
• There are no opportunities to give as well as receive
• The focus of the care revolves solely around the physical body
• Teamwork isn't utilized by care partners to meet challenges
• The emphasis is placed on the idea of treatment and task-doing, rather than care-giving

Aspiring to Create the Most Positive Experience of Elderhood Possible...

Eden at Home offers a set of innovative efforts inspired by these key ideas:

• Elders have a legacy or gift to share with their loved ones and their communities;
• Meaningful care nurtures the human spirit as well as the human body
• Meaningful care also recognizes and nurtures each person's unique capacity for growth;

• The Elder is actively involved as a care partner in her own care 
• Elderhood is honored as a valued phase of human development, not just decline of life.