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Careage Hills Implements the Eden AlternativeDate -- January 17, 2001
Marilyn Peck, Administrator of Careage Hills, Dan Myers, President of Careage Management and Janet Sullivan, Office Manager of Careage Hills, are excited about the Eden Alternative. Dan Myers,
President of Careage Management Company, Sioux City and Janet Sullivan, office
manager Careage Hills, Cherokee spent time last September learning all they
needed to convince them that the Eden Alternative would greatly improve the
quality of life for their residents. Administrator Marilyn Peck, Cherokee, and
Activity Director Cindy Schueder will attend a three day workshop in Sioux Falls
to discover different ways to implement these new ideas. The Eden
Alternative began in 1991 when Dr. William Thomas, and his wife Jude, felt that
the elderly were dying of broken hearts and loneliness and that the elderly felt
that their life wasn’t worth living anymore. The Eden Alternative is about
changing the environment that older people live in and to protect them from
loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. The idea is to make personal care homes into an Eden Alternative home and to do this it took vision, education and implementation. Plants make a home more enjoyable. The elderly can repot plants, remove dead stems or leaves and water them. Animals have brought a smile to the faces of the elderly who have always been animal lovers. Birds are really effective so besides the aviary, Careage Hills plans to allow selected individuals to have their own pet bird to look after and a pet to talk to each morning. Eventually, a dog or a cat may find a home at Careage Hills. Sullivan indicated that the introduction of birds and animals requires careful planning. All staff and residents needs and desires must be considered. Children
have always been a vital asset and Careage Hills plans to increase the
occasions for them to visit. Right now a reading program is ongoing. To increase the sense of home, Careage Hills
has begun a major redecorating project that should be completed
March or the beginning of April. Each of
the three
hallways will be designed around a theme. One hallway will be decorated in
greens and called Nature’s Path. Another will be Memory 1ane,
decorated in burgundies and nostalgic pictures with a third decorated in blue
to reflect the Tranquility Avenue theme. Each resident’s room will receive a
facelift with new drapes, bedspreads, carpet and paint and all of the common
rooms will also be redecorated. The outside changes may take a little longer but a wheelchair garden is a possibility where planters are accessible to wheelchair bound residents. Continuing to look for ways to make their residents feel at home and a part of their home is the goal of Careage Hills and the Eden Alternative.
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