Parker at Somerset Becomes an Eden Home
By Danielle Woodruffe
Parker at Somerset is committed to improving the quality of care for the people we serve and we just took the next step to show that dedication: we are registered as an Eden Alternative Home!
Parker’s vision to Make Aging Part of Life, encompasses The Eden Alternative, which is a more holistic approach to long-term care.
“We embraced The Eden Alternative’s multi-phased process that provides practices and training strategies help create a vibrant, life-affirming environment where each person matters and everyone has opportunities for growth, regardless of age or abilities,” said Jim Zauner, Parker at Somerset Administrator.
Becoming an Eden home means Parker at Somerset leaders reached an extensive list of milestones to accomplish step one of what Eden calls “the Path to Mastery.” Among the milestones reached: leaders in social work, administration, dining, recreation and more spent three intense days becoming Certified Eden Associates, developed plans to better acquaint themselves with residents’ specific wishes and desires and their families, and have also begun developing a written plan of how to implement the Eden Alternative Philosophy and Principles into the fabric of Parker at Somerset home.
The team submitted a 52-page application that outlines the milestones that will deepen the integration of person-directed care practices.
“We realized a lot of what we have been doing is really good work and already fits in with the Eden Philosophy. That made us stop and celebrate our achievements for a moment,” said Maria Campilonga, Parker at Somerset, Director of Support Services. “Our culture team has been in existence for a while. By living within the Parker vision to Make Aging Part of Life we have a really good foundation to achieve all of the Eden milestones.”
Working with employees at all levels of Parker at Somerset, The Eden Alternative provided professional development training in person-directed care, an evolving process that honors the voices and choices of elders and those working most closely with them.
“Achieving Registry Member status highlights Parker at Somerset’s focus on the unique needs, preferences, and desires of those individuals they support,” said Eden Alternative President & CEO, Jill Vitale-Aussem. Throughout this comprehensive Registry process, an interdisciplinary team of employees at Parker at Somerset focused on core person-directed values that included choice, dignity, respect, self-determination and purposeful living.
“At the heart of it, this evolution means the best care possible for our Elders and their families and we’re excited to embrace these changes,” concluded Campilonga.