Community Services
Report
2001 - Spring 2002
Seniors
Eden Alternative May Offer New Approach to Elderly Care
In a nursing home atmosphere, what has been proven to cause a
definite decrease in the need for medication, a 26 percent reduction
in
turnover of nurses’ aides, and as much as a 25 percent
drop in the death rate of the elderly residents? It is the “Eden
Alternative” program.
Brainchild of Dr. William Thomas, a physician determined to change
the sterile environment of the heretofore traditional nursing
home which tends to breed loneliness, helplessness and boredom,
his
1990 pilot home in upstate New York sought to create fertile
gardens for nurturing social and spiritual growth for nursing home
residents
and staff, alike.
In his award-winning book, “Life Worth Living,” Dr.
Thomas wrote, “The traditional nursing home gives you three
meals a day, but no reason to live. We must get people hooked on
living. That will result in fewer medications and lower mortality
rates.”
And, indeed, preliminary results in monitored Eden Alternative
pilot projects nationally support his predictions.
Pets, plants,
and visiting children provide mental stimulus and make a nursing
home truly more like a home. They help create an
interest in living as compared to being literally “bored
to death.” Cuddling a pet is a treat for any animal lover,
whatever age he/she may be.
Daniels Memorial Home Activities Director, Penny Humbert, said
that snugly pets are like live teddy bears for the elderly. Pets,
plants, and children give their lives meaning and purpose.
Daniels Memorial Hospital Administrator, Peter Birkholz, enthusiastically
supports the “Eden Alternative” concept. So much so,
that he is planning to attend a training seminar May 20-23 to become
certified in Eden Associate Training. St. John’s Lutheran
Health Services of Billings is setting up this training opportunity.
Birkholz first saw this radical new approach to residential long-term
care for the elderly at St. John’s Lutheran, and was, in
his won words, “most impressed.”
Originally implemented at a cost of approximately $30,000 for
a 218-bed facility in New York at the pilot home, Birkholz feels
that the Eden Alternative program can be started at the 42-bed
Daniels Memorial Nursing Home for a fraction of that amount.
In previous discussions with Paul Wheeler, both men agreed that
the program should be entered into slowly.
When asked how the program is to actually be implemented, Birkholz
replied that he couldn’t answer that yet until he had actually
under gone the training session.
Birkholz said, “Basically, you have to do some ground work,
you’ve got to have some plans and policies, such as how you
are going to deal with the dogs and cats and plants and birds,
and that type of things rather than bringing them all in at once
and then have people going, ‘Wow! What do we do now?’ Paul
Wheeler’s comment was, ‘Go slow.’ The St. John’s
people said the same thing. They said that it’s not necessary
to try to do everything all at once “just one step at a time.”
“
So I intend to go to this training session in May, and then after
I come back, we’ll start working on the ground work, putting
plans and policies in place. Then, we’ll start slowly with
some things, like the plants. We’ll start off with the plants,
and then the animals,” said Birkholz, “I think in the
long run, it will be very beneficial.”
NMHC Auxiliary supports foot clinics
The Northern Montana Health Care Auxiliary showed its continue
support for the Northern Montana Hospital Senior Connection
Foot Clinics recently with a $1,000 donation.
According to NMHC Senior and Volunteer Services director Claire
Wendland, the Auxiliary presented a $1,000 check to a couple of
the Foot Clinic nurses in the auxiliary’s “continuing
support of a program that we all really believe in.”
Wendlend said that the NMHC Auxiliary began its support of the
Senior Connection Foot Clinics, which are held three times a
month in Havre and several other times throughout each month along
the
Hi-Line, with a $5,000 donation to the NMHC Foundation.
That money will go toward the purchase of large equipment and
supplies, Wendland explained. However, each month as their budget
allows,
the auxiliary gives $500 to the Senior Connections for the continuation
of the monthly foot clinics.
“They (the auxiliary members) voted to give $500 a month
to help defray the cost of the foot clinics so we don’t have
to raise the cost of the foot clinics to our patrons,” Wendland
noted.
“The Auxiliary recognized that the seniors who utilize the
foot clinic services are on limited incomes. In fact, many of that
age
group belong to the Auxiliary.”
The cost for the Senior Connection Foot Clinics is $25 per person
for the initial visit and $20 per follow-up visit.
“
Some of the people who come to our foot clinic very carefully budget
for that money because they recognize it as a health necessity
in their lives,” said Foot Clinic registered nurse Kathy
Anderson.
The NMHC Auxiliary raises its money through a number of
annual fund-raisers such a pie social and a book fair, in addition
to
the proceeds from the auxiliary’s two gift shops, located
at Northern Montana Hospital and Northern Montana Care Center.
Pet Therapy
A pet therapy program was developed and introduced to the Nursing
Home at Mountainview Medical Center with the help of a high-school-to-work
program. Initially, kittens were brought into the nursing home
to live but they were not able to stay due to sharp claws scratching
the residents too much. Currently, a larger, older, declawed
cat lives with one of the residents. During the year, three
dogs lived in the facility, two live with residents in their rooms.
The animals go on the resident bus rides in the summer months.
In addition, there are frogs, fish, plants and birds. Community
members often bring their pets to visit. During Nursing Home
week, community members brought pigs, goats, kittens, puppies,
gerbils, lizards, rabbits, and lambs to the activity courtyard
for the residents to see and hold.
A Day in the Life of Granite County Nursing Home
The Eden Alternative program has become part of our everyday
life at Granite County Nursing Home. Eden Alternative is a philosophy
in which by bringing plants, animals and children into the nursing
home it provides a more natural setting, and less of an institutional
atmosphere. Dr. William Thomas, creator of the Eden philosophy
states, “Life is a truly human community revolving around
close and continuing contact with children, plants and animals.
These ancient relationships provide young and old alike with
a pathway to a life worth living.”
Granite County Nursing Home offers an on site home start program
bimonthly, interaction with school kids and young volunteers.
The natural habitat consists of 3 birds, 2 cats, many plants in
the
sunny dining area, a courtyard garden and community involvement.
The Eden program is blossoming and the benefits to the elders
is beginning to show.
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