Eden Alternative Campus

Creating Homelike Environments & Relationship-Centered Care

A growing number of long-term care providers like Eben Ezer, have established more homelike environments for neighbors by implementing a relationship-centered approach to care that better addresses neighbor’s needs and quality of life. The Eden Alternative is a philosophy of care to improve that quality of life for our neighbors. At Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center, we are dedicated to empower others to create their person-directed environments and to eliminate the plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom.

We are dedicated to helping our neighbors become as independent as possible and to grow in their environment. The core concept of the Eden Alternative is seeing the environments as habitats for human beings rather than facilities for the frail and elderly. The Eden philosophy supports person-directed care, focusing on what we can do, not on what we can’t.

The support and involvement of family members is a core component of the relationship-centered approach; the success of this approach is contingent on collaboration among family, the Eben Ezer team, and neighbors.

The Eden Alternative Domains of Well-Being

Well-being is a human right.

• IDENTITY – being well-known, having personhood, individuality, having a history
• GROWTH – development, enrichment, expanding, evolving
• AUTONOMY – liberty, self-determination, choice, freedom
• SECURITY – freedom from doubt, anxiety, or fear, safety, privacy, dignity, respect
• CONNECTEDNESS – belonging, engaged, involved, connected to time, place, and nature
• MEANING – significance, heart, hope, value, purpose, sacredness
• JOY – happiness, pleasure, delight, contentment, enjoyment