The Timeless Power of the Learning Circle
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.
Words With Elders
Kingston Nursing Center in Conway, South Carolina is having a great time honoring National Scrabble Day. The team thought it would be fun to honor National Scrabble Day and the hot new game “Words with Friends” together. The Administrative Secretary and the Enrichment Team worked together to create this amazing interactive bulletin board. The idea [...]
Safe to Reduce Antipsychotics Says New Study
A recent article in McKnight’s Long Term Care magazine highlights a study that concludes it is safe in most cases to eliminate antipsychotic drugs.
Building a Participatory Culture
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.
It’s a Process, Not a Program
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 [...]
Tennessee Takes on Antipsychotic Drug Reduction
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, [...]
Eden Alternative Delivers Major Dementia Training Initiative in Tennessee
A press release issued today by the Tennessee Department of Health states that the Office of Health Care Facilities has secured a CMP grant totaling more than $370,000 to provide training for 749 people including nursing home direct care staff members, state surveyors and managers, State Long-Term Care Ombudsmen and members of the Tennessee Advancing Excellence [...]
Best Practices in Home Care Showcase
One of the things that keeps me working in the aging services field is the camaraderie of my colleagues. They demonstrate a tremendous commitment to and appreciation for Elders and their care partners, an awareness of the Elders’ stories as sacred treasures to be held by us with care, and an intuition that the health [...]
Catching Up with the Blog
I’m back on the blog after a 2-month hiatus. Things got a little crazy there, but I’ve finally had a chance to catch my breath. Since my last post, I’ve had a wonderful trip to Europe, where I facilitated my … Continue reading →
International Change Agents Gather in Iceland
On September 26, 2012, culture change advocates from around the world gathered in Reykjavik, Iceland to listen to presentations about The Eden Alternative. They shared the challenges they face in bringing culture change to long-term care settings and amazing success stories. Dr. Thomas and his wife, Jude, joined the conference along with 170 other individuals. [...]
Educators and Mentors Unite in Florida
Eden Alternative Educators and Mentors came from all over the U.S. and Canada to St. Petersburg, Florida October 5 & 6, 2012 for our bi-annual face to face gathering. Many hot topics were discussed such as identifying new paradigms that need to be busted and the formation of a more focused Educator team. The Eden [...]
Eden Alternative’s Presence Felt at AHCA Conference in Tampa
One of the ways we are getting exposure for The Eden Alternative these days is by exhibiting and speaking at industry events like the recent AHCA Annual Conference in Tampa, Fl. In Tampa Nancy Fox and I partnered on an educational session where we talked to more than 100 people about our new Neighborhood Guide Curriculum [...]
Green House model creator, Dr. Bill Thomas, to be honored by The Long Term Care Community Coalition
Green House model creator, Dr. Bill Thomas,”an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare”, will be honored by The Long Term Care Coalition in a fundraiser to benefit the coalition. The theme of this year’s fundraiser, “improving the lives of … Continue reading →
Surplus Safety….More Than Meets the Eye
I had the privilege recently of attending a symposium about “surplus safety,” put together by the Erickson School at the University of Maryland at Baltimore and funded by the Maurice Rothschild Foundation. Many thanks to these organizations for convening a group of more than 30 of the best and brightest minds in the world of [...]
New Eden Alternative Neighborhood Guides Come Out of Sewickley, PA Training
Two new organizations are stepping up to ensure that their neighborhood teams are successful. Care partners from St. John’s Home in Rochester, NY (Joanne Panarisi-Bottone, Kristine Angevine, and Karen Natoli) and Epworth Village in Oklahoma City, OK (Linda Crawford) attended The Eden Alternative’s new Neighborhood Guide Training at Masonic Village in Sewickley, PA during the [...]
Embracing Elderhood Changes Lives Across Generations
By Laura Beck on September 13, 2012 At last week’s Green House Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., I had the opportunity to introduce Green House adopters to Embracing Elderhood, an Eden Alternative initiative that brings volunteers, age 16 and … Continue reading →
The Eden Alternative Reaches China and Colombia
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 [...]
Bridging the Gap in Dementia Care
Following are excerpts from an article with the same title as this post written by Kathleen Lourde that appears in the September issue of Provider Magazine, both the print and on-line versions. G. Allen Power, MD, author of “Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care,” proposes a simple yet, for many providers, radical idea: [...]
Baltimore Book Reading Features Post-Apocalyptic Novel With New Vision For Old Age
William H. Thomas, a Harvard-trained physician, award-winning social activist, visionary eldercare reformer, mixed-power farmer, musician, playwright and author, brings his vision for a new old age to Baltimore with a public reading of his new novel Tribes of Eden, hosted by GEDCO at Stadium Place Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
A Memory Care Home That is Making Memories Daily
Imagine a memory care home that never mentions words like “confusion, memory loss, or dementia” when you are talking with them. These words often come up in conversation with teams that care for those living with dementia. Introducing, Chateau Gardens Memory Care, Springfield, OR, who joined the Eden Registry on August 14, 2012. The team [...]
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