Life at Uplands Articles

In 2004, residents of Uplands Retirement Village were told of plans to replace Wharton Nursing Home's aging building. Our Executive Director appointed three resident committees: Alzheimer's, Aquatics, and "Green." Residents on the committees were charged with researching options, and given a deadline to report on their findings. Mary Schwarz was appointed chair of the Alzheimer's Committee, Al Rogers appointed to the Aquatics Committee, and Jane Heald was asked to chair an environmental committee - the Green Committee. Ever since Jane and her husband, Mark, moved to Pleasant Hill in 1998, she had been taking her keyboard to accompany hymn singing at the Wharton Nursing Home on Sunday mornings, parading through the hospital-like hallways.

Nadine Simpson, on the Alzheimer's Committee, and husband, Bob, visited Green Houses in Tupelo, Mississippi bringing back snapshots and enthusiastic reviews."Green House" is Bill Thomas's name for a small residence with permanent staff, where elders are cared for like family. Jane became determined that Uplands should study the Eden Alternative. She bought a dozen copies of Bill Thomas's paperback, Life Worth Living, and began circulating them with the Uplands' Administration and neighborhoods. She also purchased copies of the Tupelo Green House video for showing to residents, the Board and the Administration. Thomas describes the "three plagues of elderhood as loneliness, helplessness, and boredom."

Nursing homes were first developed following a hospital/institutional design, which may work for short-term hospital recuperation stays, but fall short of fulfilling the needs of elders in long-term care. The Eden Alternative creates an elder-centered community committed to creating a human habitat or home where life revolves around close and continuing contact with other people, plants, animals, and children. It is these relationships that provide elders with a pathway to a life worth living. An elder-centered community honors its elders by de-emphasizing top-down authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the elders or those closest to them. Creating an elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.

The decision was made to abandon the medical model in the new Wharton Homes. Staff was consulted and made a field trip to Meadowlark Hills in Kansas and another, to the Tupelo Green Houses. Uplands Village residents became involved, attending workshops in Nashville and several carloads of Uplanders went to Murfreesboro to hear Dr. Bill Thomas, including Dr. Richard Braun, Medical Director of Wharton Nursing Home. Jane Heald was instrumental in obtaining a $5,000 grant from Tennessee, which was used to send administration leaders to a three-day Eden Associate training. In October 2006 the entire staff had an opportunity to spend an hour and a half with Alice Truluck of Advanced Solutions Consulting, Inc., who has trained over 7,000 long-term care employees on person-directed care and culture change. She gave six "Fast Forward" trainings back to back to all employees of Uplands Village. Over a dozen staff members and an equal number of residents have completed the three-day training to become Certified Eden Associates. The trained staff members conducted several one-day trainings for other employees. Employees were paid for attending on their day off-with money from a second grant Heald was able to obtain.

After Sharon and Lyman Baier, experts in organizational change, became residents of Uplands, they traveled to Cincinnati for a three-day Eden Associates Training. Working with senior staff, they guided Uplands through the work of transformation.

The Journey to Eden for the Uplands Community took six years of training and preparation before the opening of Wharton Homes in July 2010. The staff prepared so hard and spent many hours training for the culture change of the Eden Alternative. The staff, volunteers, and residents are experiencing the positive results of this very hard work.

The four new homes are named for former medical directors and each home has a household coordinator, - Dr. Braun (present medical director) (Tammie Underwood), Dr. Munson (Twanja Davis), Dr. Dougherty (Tammy Williams), and Dr. Lake (Joyce Smith). Each home houses 15 or 16 residents and is served by its own team. Two homes join into a "neighborhood" with access to an outside garden and have common areas where the residents may come together for special activities.

Dr. Bill Thomas, of Harvard University, espouses the "Ten Eden Alternative Principles" in his book, Life Worth Living. As the Eden journey continues throughout the entire village, Lisa Norris RN, Culture Change & Staff Development Coordinator, explains how the teams attempt to follow these principles in Wharton Homes. Following are her descriptions of Dr. Thomas' principles:

1. The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.
"Our homes have a living and dining area for elders to gather, visit and have meals together. Many family members join their loved one for meals. The tables are the meeting place for puzzles, checkers and an occasional card game. A double sided fire place is a warm and cozy place to sit with a large screen TV for movies, news and weather updates or listen to the piano as someone softly plays. This home-like dining and living area creates a "home like environment" that enhances the elders feeling of family and a place to call their own.
2. An Elder-centered community commits to creating a Human Habitat or "Home" where life revolves around close and continuing contact with other people, plants, animals and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.
3. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
"You will find many varieties of plants in the homes. We have visitors who bring their pets. Grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews along with employees' children visit and seem to enjoy the open spaces to play and visit with the elders."
4. An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
"Many elders will visit their neighbors, send birthday and get well cards."
5. An Elder-centered community fills daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom.
"Our elders and staff are encouraged to be spontaneous allowing them to make choices instead of having ridged schedules. If it snows the elders may decide it's a good day to make snowballs!" One resident told of a food fight, which resulted in uproarious laughter from a stroke victim who was unable to speak when he was hit in the head by a grape.
6. Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.
"We encourage elders and staff to have time for meaningful activities. This is often taking the time to sit and chat, share a piece of chocolate or take a stroll in our lovely gardens."
7. Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
"Our homes do provide medical treatment, and we honor and respect the elders wishes for quality of life, allowing them to make choices related to their care."
8. An Elder centered community honors its Elders by de emphasizing top down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.
"The elders and their caregivers are the voices to be listened to. Our caregivers have had extensive training on how to create a homelike environment and be the elders advocate."
9. Creating an Elder centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
"In this journey, the elders and staff will never stop growing and will never stop living life. Growth and life must never be separated for without growth there is no life. We encourage staff to look deep within themselves learning who they are and what they stand for. They must take care of themselves before truly care about someone else."
10. Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.
"Wisdom is all around us in this community of elders and we cherish their wisdom with a passion for they have the answers..."