By Denise Hyde
Eden Alternative Membership Engagement Guide
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
Henry Ford
The first implementation of The Eden Alternative approach happened in upstate New York. Dr. Bill Thomas was the Medical Director of a five-star nursing home. Bill believed life in this home could be different and shared his ideas with their team. Those that lived and worked at this nursing home had no idea what was in store for them, but they were willing to find out. They received a grant and got busy. They were pioneers. Dr. Bill Thomas captures the story of that first implementation in his book Life Worth Living: How Someone You Love Can Still Enjoy Life in a Nursing Home.
Achieving success, Bill, and his wife Jude, wanted to share what they had learned with others. It was logical. There were over 16,000 nursing homes across the US alone that could benefit from what they had to teach. Bill spread his story as far as he could. People heard what he had to say but did not know where to start. The solution was to create a curriculum; a way to share the Ten Principles and get people inspired to act. He named his ideas, The Eden Alternative®.
A Shared Vision for Influencers
From that emerged the Certified Eden Associate Training. The training has gone through changes as the world of Eldercare has evolved and as the message has spread beyond the nursing home environment. Yet, the results remain the same. People are transformed as they walk through the Ten Principles, learn about the importance of well-being, and identify ways to move from institutional approaches to person-directed approaches.
As organizations adopted the Eden Approach®, it became clear that there are certain key influencers in an organization that need to be equipped with what Certified Eden Associate Training has to offer. For example, the Administrator, Director of Nursing, Social Services leader, Recreation leader, and Dining Services leader. Without this foundational knowledge, and mindset shift, “yeah, buts …” will arise and progress toward person-directed care slows or stalls.
The answer is to find your influencers. Get them educated so they can all share the same vision. When everyone is aligned and in sync, amazing transformations can happen.
“I am looking forward to everyone completing the training, putting the Domains of Well-Being in place, and having a healthier and happier community.”
Certified Eden Associate Training Participant
The Experience of Eden Members
Growth and Certified Eden Members get it. Training influencers in their organization is not just a ‘nice to have,’ it is a ‘need to have.’ It starts with the formal titled leaders and extends to influencers across the organization. To help these teams capture their efforts, three new Member Practices are available under the Education Track. The Member Practices to look for are:
- Elders and Family as Eden Associates
- Leaders as Eden Associates
- Employees as Eden Associates
Your Next Steps
The Eden Alternative can assist you with getting everyone on the same page:
- If you are an Eden Member organization, be sure to use your discount code when signing up for any training we offer, including Certified Eden Associate Training.
- The Eden Alternative also has grant application templates organizations can use to get additional funding from local, state, and government resources to support training efforts. Schedule a call with Meredith Martin to learn more.
- To find out details of upcoming classes, check out the Events Calendar. There are several in-person trainings and an online training (starting October 6, 2025) posted there.
- If you want to host a training, or become an Eden Educator, schedule a call with Stacy McCaney.
What can you do today to get everyone on the same page and magnify your success with person-directed care using the Eden Approach?
About The Eden Alternative
Our Mission: To improve the well-being of Elders and their care partners by transforming the communities in which they live and work.
The Eden Alternative offers educational opportunities, consultation and a proven approach to honoring Elderhood – with resources for Elders and their care partners to elevate well-being.
