We are excited to announce the launch of the 2014 Eden Alternative International Conference website. Check it out and get pumped up for Strike a Chord, Resonate Well-Being in Nashville, the Music City, from April 30 to May 2, 2014! The conference theme highlights the power of the Eden Alternative Domains of Well-Being™ and how they [...]
As Westerners, we’re not conditioned to be deep listeners. It takes commitment to lead by example to shift our cultural tendency to speak first and listen later.
Let’s face it. Care that is genuinely person-directed can’t exist without a dedication to diversity awareness.
Feeling empowered is vital to our continued growth and development, no matter who we are, or where we live or work.
Check out what Design for Generations has to say about the unique impact gardening can have in care environments in his article, “Incorporating Gardens Care Planning.”
Leaders who just pay lip service to creating a participatory ethos find out very quickly that they are building their culture change journey on quick sand.
As a society, we love our programs. Move around in any professional sub-culture and you will hear the word “program” thrown about repeatedly. We love methodically following their pre-determined steps and adding them to a list of other programs that we are already implementing. I have been to meetings and professional events where lists of [...]
Last week, the first of three multi-day events took place in Nashville, TN, focusing on the reduction of anti-psychotic drugs (see Chris Perna’s recent post for the details). This collaboration between The Eden Alternative and the Tennessee Department of Health, Division of Health Care Facilities has the potential to make an important impact in Tennessee, [...]
Recently, I returned home to find a bar of dark chocolate with a ribbon around it at my doorstep. There was no card or acknowledgement – just a little bar of delight waiting there for me. I waited a few days to see if someone was going to own up to leaving it there. But [...]
As of this month, our global reach at The Eden Alternative has officially extended to 6 out of 7 continents! On September 4th, Dr. Bill Thomas added South America to the list when he landed in Bogotá, Colombia as keynote speaker of the annual conference for Fundación Saldarriaga Concha. The week before, Carol Ende, EA’s [...]
The Eden Alternative joined over a 1,000 culture change enthusiasts in Jacksonville, Florida, last weekend to kick off the Pioneer Network’s 12th National Conference, Building a Bridge to a New Culture in Aging. On Sunday, the 5th of August, our own Dr. Al Power joined an all star line-up of speakers for a day-long intensive [...]
Last week, the Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a study involving 1,600 Elders, confirming what the Eden Alternative Philosophy has upheld for many years. Medical experts found that Elders suffering from loneliness were at significant risk for declining health over short periods of time. In 2002, participating Elders were interviewed about how [...]
Home and community-based services had their own track at the International Conference, highlighting the adaptability of the Eden Alternative Principles to different care environments. Featured sessions included: Person Directed Practice in Home Health Care, Transforming CCRC Culture Through Eden at Home, and The Guiding Vision of The Eden Alternative in Hospice. Guiding Change Across the [...]
Navigating the Way Home: Guiding Change Along the Continuum of Care, our 6th International Conference, ushers in a new and exciting period of growth for The Eden Alternative. Scheduled for May 30-June 1, the event features The Eden Alternative’s commitment to extending its vision across all care environments.
As many of us know, “culture change” is the common name for a global initiative focused on transforming care, as we know it, for Elders and individuals living with different abilities (physical, developmental, intellectual, and psychological). It advocates for a shift from institutional models of care to person-directed values and practices that put the individual first.
The Eden Alternative began its journey focusing on transforming the culture of care in nursing homes and other institutional settings. Since then, however, its impact has reached across the full continuum of care.
At the 2012 Eden Alternative International Conference, Elders have the opportunity to share their artistic flair by participating in a silent auction of Elder art. This is the second time the International Conference has featured this event. In 2010, Alice Bissell, a resident of Jackson County Medical Care Facility, an Eden Registry Member in Jackson, MI, contributed artwork to the silent auction. Bissell passed away in 2011, but her memory lives on in one of her beautiful paintings purchased by Eden Mentor Sandra Place at the auction.
Life coach Martha Beck’s new book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, captures the key qualities of what she calls a “Wayfinder.” Wayfinders, by her definition, look a lot like culture change advocates to me. Beck describes Wayfinders as individuals driven by an authentic instinct to follow a specific path, with the goal of healing their world by discovering and embracing their own true nature. Culture changers across the care continuum often share stories of having experienced a deep, inner calling to “do what’s right” and begin seeing and addressing care through new eyes, in spite of the odds or barriers they face.
At each Eden Alternative International Conference, we get a chance to take a fresh look at culture change as a community issue. Through Building Bridges, Elders and youth, ages 11 to 15, come together to learn more about each other and the value of reframing aging and attitudes about care.
Nationally-acclaimed writer and speaker Connie Goldman will be a featured speaker at the upcoming 6th Eden Alternative International Conference, May 30-June 1, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. An award-winning National Public Radio producer and the author of six books, Ms. Goldman offers an inspiring message about deepening our experience of later life and the relationships that [...]
The Eden Alternative is launching new trainings focused on helping long-term care communities see dementia through new eyes. The new two-day training Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care, based on Dr. Al Power’s award-winning book of the same name, debuted Feb. 8 in Providence, R.I., and attracted dementia caregivers from around the U.S. and Canada.
Dr. Bill Thomas is an international expert on elderhood and geriatric medicine. He is the founder of the Eden Alternative and Green House Project, a writer and musician. Follow Dr. Bill on Twitter and Facebook.
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