The Eden Alternative is a powerful philosophy for ensuring the well-being of older people and those who work with them as partners in care. GERATEC follows this philosophy and the 10 Eden Principles listed below. For more information on the Eden Alternative go to www.edenalt.org

10 Principles for Person-Centred Care

1. The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among older people.
2. A person-centred community commits to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals and children.
3. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship. Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness.
4. A person-centred community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
5. A person-centred community imbues 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.
6. Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.
7. Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
8. A person-centred community honours older people by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into their hands or into the hands of those closest to them.
9. Creating a person-centred community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
10. Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.

imagine the freedom...