Eden Alternative
Bordeaux Long-Term Care is evolving into a place where people come to have help with living. In honoring that commitment to its residents, BLTC has begun a process known as “edenizing” the facility. With a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health, BLTC is a registered Eden facility.
Developed by Dr. William Thomas, a Harvard trained internist who became Medical Director at a New York state nursing home, the Eden process encompasses a theory that many residents confined to nursing homes do not die
of their medical illnesses, but from loneliness, helplessness and boredom.
With the introduction of children, plants and animals, residents are energized to become involved with activities and processes that involve them in daily routines caring for plants and animals and developing relationships with the young people who have become part of the routine within a facility.
The first stage of BLTC’s evolution involves “Camp Bordeaux” a program that brings youth between the ages of 7 and 21 to work with residents during the summer and school in-service and vacation days. A second component will be the conversion of nursing units to neighborhoods, as opposed to nursing units, and staff working with residents to make changes.
If you are interested in learning more about the Eden process, you may contact the Eden Alternative at 742 Turnpike Road, Sherburne, NY 13460 or if you would like to enroll as a Camp Bordeaux youth volunteer, call Nursing Administration, 862-7023.