What is the Eden Alternative® & Why Choose a Certified Community?

When you are looking for a long-term care community for yourself or someone you love, there are a lot of factors to consider. First and foremost, you need to find a place that offers the right level or levels of care. But you may also want to consider location, amenities, and community features. 

In addition, there is another consideration worth factoring into your search: whether or not a community is Eden Alternative® certified.

Many of our Vivage long-term care communities are Eden Alternative® certified. We believe that by implementing these philosophies into our everyday approach, we can better carry out our mission of providing the Right Care in the Right Place at the Right Time. 

To help you better understand the Eden Alternative®, our team is sharing the benefits of choosing a community that holds and applies these values.

What is the Eden Alternative®?

To answer this question, you have to first understand their ten principles:

• Principle One – Loneliness, helplessness, and boredom are painful and destructive to our health and well-being.
  
  
• Principle Two – A caring, inclusive and vibrant community enables all of us, regardless of age or ability, to experience well-being.
  
  
• Principle Three – We thrive when we have easy access to the companionship we desire. This is the antidote to loneliness.
  
  
• Principle Four – We thrive when we have purpose and the opportunity to give, as well as receive. This is the antidote to helplessness.
  
  
• Principle Five – We thrive when we have variety, spontaneity, and unexpected happenings in our lives. This is the antidote to boredom.
  
  
• Principle Six – Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. Meaning is unique to each of us and is essential to health and well-being.
  
  
• Principle Seven – We are more than our medical diagnoses. Medical treatment should support and empower us to experience a life worth living.
  
  
• Principle Eight – Decision-making must involve those most impacted by the decision. Empowerment activates choice, autonomy, and influence.
  
  
• Principle Nine – Building a collaborative and resilient culture is a never-ending process. We need to keep learning, developing, and adapting.
  
  
• Principle Ten – Wise leadership is the key to meaningful and lasting change. For it, there can be no substitute.

The Eden Alternative® is “a global, 501c3 non-profit organization that impacts hundreds of thousands of people across 23 countries and transforms caring relationships throughout all care settings and services.” This approach to caregiving is about more than providing medical care. It is about improving the overall well-being of individuals and their care partners. 

The Eden Alternative® approach to person-directed care has expanded its reach to all care settings, including care communities. By focusing on enhancing the quality of life for older adults, the Eden Alternative® philosophy promotes cultural change one relationship at a time.

The Benefits of an Eden Alternative® Community

Person-Centered Care

While most long-term care communities claim to provide person-centered care, what differentiates an Eden Alternative® certified community is that care focuses on the “whole person.”

The care provided in an Eden Alternative® community is not just about medical care; it is about providing care that enhances a person’s overall health and wellness – mind, body, and spirit. For example, at our Vivage communities, we create customized care plans that ensure individuals and residents receive care that is unique to them and will optimize their well-being.

Care with Respect & Dignity

A common fear that individuals experience before moving into a community is that they will be forgotten or just be a “number” to the team members. However, in an Eden Alternative® certified community, this is not the case. 

When you transition into an Eden Alternative® certified long-term care community, you maintain your identity, personhood, personal history, and are known for who you are throughout the community.

Preserve Autonomy

Your life is yours to live. By choosing an Eden Alternative® certified community, you have the liberty and self-determination over the care you receive and what you do on a day-to-day basis, including what you eat and what activities you choose to participate in or decline.

At Vivage, we view our communities as more than a place for individuals to receive care. For many, it is their home; they have control over their daily lives and are treated as the individuals they are.

To explore Vivage’s Eden Alternative® certified long-term care communities throughout Colorado, we invite you to visit our website.