European Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Visits Levindale

It was anything but the Tower of Babel recently at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. Although the people who gathered around a horseshoe table in the Schwaber Multi-Purpose Room spoke German, Italian, Danish and English, they all had something wonderful in common. They wanted to learn how to provide long-term care for elders around the world so they can experience joy everyday.

The group was part of the European Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (EAHSA). They were visiting the United States to see how the Eden Alternative philosophy and Neighborhood Model of care really work.

Levindale was one of the most anticipated stops on their tour because they wanted to see how the new $31 million dollar expansion and build-out on the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Campus was going to put the Neighborhood Model into practice. They were also curious to see how it would combine with the Eden Alternative, which is already in use at the Baltimore center.

The group of ten heard a presentation about how the Eden journey began and progressed.* Members of Levindale’s executive staff, Aric Spitulnik, Myron Gelsinger, Heather Allen and Michelle Mills, shared information and stories about the challenges and successes over the past 11 years and how both led to an entire change in culture surrounding the quality of life for residents.

With the Eden Alternative solidly in place, the journey moved to the next phase, the Neighborhood Model, and early in 2011 construction of a new building began. It will have 84 new private resident rooms in six households of 14 rooms each. In addition to the privacy, there will be common areas in each household, such as country kitchens, hearth areas and other elegant, modern amenities.

“We want Levindale to truly be a home to be proud of for our residents and their families when it opens its doors to them in 2012,” says Spitulnik.

After walking around the construction site, members of the EAHSA also visited a unit so they could see the Eden Alternative in practice. The EAHSA group was also in the DC area, where members saw Eden Alternative centers and heard from Bill Thomas, M.D., the creator of the philosophy. After they left Levindale, it was onto New York to see more innovations for themselves.

* The Eden Alternative philosophy replaces the three plagues of the elderly- loneliness, helplessness and boredom- in long-term care environments with companionship, empowerment and spontaneity. It uses ten principles that affect the way staff and residents interact daily

-Helene King

About Helene King

Helene King is a communications coordinator in the marketing department at LifeBridge Health. She is primarily responsible for working with the cardiology, endocrinology, wound care and geriatric departments. Before joining LifeBridge Health, Helene was a television news producer, who can't believe how much she likes Twitter.

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