Creating Quality of Life for Care Partner Teams – Eden at Home Care Partner Workshop Comes to Bloom at St Petersurg
Robert Loyd recalls a time when his late father let him know that he had had enough. “He became mostly catatonic, and my mother was prone to breaking down in tears because she felt so powerless, “explains Loyd, “I also let the stress get to me, and I fell into depression myself.” Looking for new and inspiring ways to support his family’s needs, Loyd enrolled in an Eden at Home (EAH) Care Partner Workshop. Eden at Home, an initiative of The Eden Alternative, emphasizes the concept of care partnership as a means of fostering creative, collaborative support systems called care partner teams. Care partners, by definition, include family, friends, neighbors, volunteers, home care professionals and, most importantly, the elder herself.
Now an international non-profit 501(c)3 organization, The Eden Alternative is a proven model for improving the quality of life of both Elders and their care partners. The Eden Alternative Philosophy, comprised of ten foundational principles has transformed hundreds of long-term care communities in the U.S. and abroad in its quest to eliminate the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. Eden at Home applies the Eden Alternative Philosophy to creating quality of life specifically for Elders living at home and their care partners, acknowledging that everyone on the care partner team can suffer from the three plagues.
“Eden at Home promotes a culture of meaningful care that does not see the needs of caregivers as separate from the needs of care receivers, but rather advocates for the well being of the whole care partnership,” says Eden Alternative CEO Chris Perna “this is unique, given the emphasis of other models that highlight the needs of caregivers alone.”
Offering both a general version and dementia-specific version of its curriculum, Eden at Home emphasizes that meaningful care involves nurturing the human spirit, as well as the human body, while encouraging each person’s unique capacity for growth. Part of redefining care in this way is recognizing elder hood as a valued phase of human development, rather than merely the decline of life.
“The techniques I learned from Eden at Home and the way my thinking changed really helped all of us,” Loyd continues, “My father became more responsive, and I no longer excluded my mother from the tasks of caring for my father.” Loyd, a participant in the AARP Arkansas pilot of Eden at Home was so inspired by what he learned in the Care Partner Workshop that he decided to become a Certified Eden at Home Associate, “I wanted to positively impact the lives of others and help them recover as my family did.” Certified Eden at Home Associates serve as change agents that are also empowered to facilitate workshops for care partners in their community via a grassroots approach that brings family members and health professionals together in the spirit of shared learning.
“I have worked in the medical field for over ten years and was able to take care of my father’s medical and physical needs. However, I didn’t realize I was neglecting him emotionally and mentally until I took an Eden at Home workshop,” notes Noria Day, a participating care partner, “Eden at Home helped me give my father his independence back.”
Hosted by Michelle Lowack and Linda Burhans, an Eden at Home Care Partner Workshop focused on creating quality of life for care partner teams is scheduled for Tuesday January 16, 23 and 30 from 1p-5p. Workbook and series – only $40. To learn more or to register for this workshop, go to www.LindaBurhans.com or call 727-641-5483.
Press Contacts: Michelle Lowack Eden At Home Associate 727-641-5483