THE EDEN ALTERNATIVE

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking


Bill Thomas is one of my heroes.   

He is a dreamer who is changing the world.

I had the opportunity to learn about Bill's work, The EDEN ALTERNATIVE,  in the 90s, when I helped write a grant for The Fountains, a chain of senior living centers.  

We became a part of the movement of people transforming long term care facilities into what they should be:  human habitats with plants, animals and children.  

Bill (Dr. William Thomas) is the internationally-recognized co-founder of The Eden Alternative:   a principle-based philosophy that empowers all long term care partners (employees, family members, volunteers, and the Elders themselves) to transform institutional approaches to care into caring communities where life is worth living.

Bill was an emergency room physician in upstate New York.  He was offered a part-time job at a nursing home, where he discovered "plagues of Loneliness, Helplessness, and Boredom."  He sensed that there was important work he was meant to do do.

Bill began to dream (in the early 90's) of how to change the world of long term care for the elderly. 

 
Listen to Bill's story in his own words:  

 

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULgZ3WKQQ8 

Human habitats with plants, animals and children are a "pathway to a life worth living" for all of us...not just the elderly.  

God has blessed me with my own EDEN:  children, grandchildren, friends, puppies, and gardens to cultivate.   
 

Front Walkway.  Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood (Weeping Chinese Cherry Tree, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Boxwood)

When God sets out the entire creation 

as a science classroom, 

using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

Job 35:11

The Message Bible

My Front Yard.  Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

Attention, all!   

See the marvels of God!

He plants flowers and trees all over the earth.

Psalm 46:3

The Message Bible

  

Grandson Caleb, Granddaughters Emily and Megan, Grandson Joshua, Daughters Sarah and Faith.  Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

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http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=Dr.+Thomas+the+eden+alternative

Bill Thomas asks long term care partners to live for more than following rules and regulations - but to give our lives to a sacred mission:  to transform long term care.

It transforms us, too.

I promise.

How about you?


EDEN ALTERNATIVE
10 Principles Long Term Care


1.    The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.

2.    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 the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.

3.    Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship. 

4.    An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.

5.    An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.

6.    Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.

7.    Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.

8.    An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.

9.    Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.

10.    Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute. 

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 http://www.edenalt.org/

 The Eden Alternative® is an international, nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that provides education and consultation for organizations across the entire continuum of care.  As a person-directed care philosophy, it is dedicated to creating care environments that promote quality of life for Elders and those who support them as care partners. 

 CLICK on the link or 

COPY & PASTE the link in your browser: 

 http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=Dr.+Thomas+the+eden+alternative

My Front Yard:  Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back again, and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Marcia holds her family's three rescued puppies:  Pearl Ming Zhu (Peek-A-Poo), Daisy Duke (Chinese Crested/Chihuahua) and Izzy Belle (Schnoodle).  Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood