Eden Alternative

The Manilla Manor has chosen a philosophy that treats elders with much warmth, respect and humanity. The philosophy was designed by Dr. Thomas of New York state. In the early 1990's, as medical director of an elder care facility in New York state, Dr. Thomas saw a need to eliminate the plagues helplessness, boredom, and loneliness of the elderly in nursing homes across the country. He, along with his wife Judith, were determined to find anecdotes to these plagues and with much research, developed the Eden Alternative Philosophy for nursing home care.

We at the Manor, with the support of our Board of Directors, have chosen to adopt the Eden philosophy because we are dedicated to providing not only the best nursing interventions, but to provide an environment and atmosphere that goes above and beyond the ordinary. We have come to realize that this type of environment that eliminates loneliness, boredom and helplessness is a necessary component to the elders' complete fulfillment. 

We have seven trained Eden Alternative associates on staff who lead and assist in educating other staff members. The emphasis is that a nursing facility should be a "habitat for humans" instead of an institutional setting where old, sick people come to stay and die. An integral part of the philosophy is that all decisions made in the facility, from the board of directors on down to the direct care givers, are made with the elders' best interests in mind. 

The atmosphere in the home needs to be warm; with warm feelings promoted among staff members and among staff members and elders. The process that the facility goes through to implement the philosophy is introduced gradually and is similar to that of preparing the soil, planting the seed, tending the garden and then harvesting its fruits. As a garden needs frequent tending and warm fertile soil, the same is true of relationships.  

In addition to our bird aviary, Manilla Manor is home to one cat named Fritz, six parakeets and "Lady", our Irish setter/springer Spaniel dog. The animals and birds, along with a large number of live plants, add another dimension to the philosophy. Many individuals when living in their own homes had either plants, animals or both to meet their needs for companionship, fun, enjoyment and to be connected to living things and nature. "Mother Nature has a lot to teach us about creating vibrant and vigorous habitats." And, after all, who wouldn't rather live in a garden-like environment?

The philosophy emphasizes spontaneity. We at the Manilla Manor strive to make it a fun place to live and to work at time, to do fun things on the spur of the moment. To be flexible in scheduling of activities to allow for spontaneity. The animals aid in spontaneity as they always entertain us. At our facility, we provide a garden environment inside as well as on our spacious surrounding area out of doors.

Equally as important in the Eden philosophy is "purpose." All humans need purpose to feel worthwhile instead of helpless, and elders are no different in this need. We strive to give every elder at Manilla Manor a purpose. Our plants and animals provide many of the opportunities we have for our elders to be by being involved in their daily or weekly care routine. They feel satisfaction and increased self esteem being able accomplish these tasks although they are only involved if they choose to be. Other opportunities are according to the interests and abilities of our elders. The Manilla Manor follows state and federal regulations and guidelines in regard to having pets in the Facility.