Introduction
Care for the elderly carries particular connotations in the healthcare system. It requires the provision of psychological well-being and physical care for a specific stratum of the population “that is typically experiencing a state of physical and/or mental decline” (Fornara & Manca, 2017, p. 459). Thus, choosing from a wide array of nursing home designs becomes a matter of knowing which one produces the most satisfactory results in their care for patients with dementia.
The Eden Alternative vs. the Greenhouse Project vs. the Wellspring Model
The three most widespread models all rely upon different principles in their aim to achieve a unified goal of providing elderly patients with a comfortable end-of-life experience. Tackling “loneliness, helplessness, and boredom” is the objective of the Eden Alternative, which allows its clients to retain a high degree of personal independence (Wilby, Stryker, Hyde, & Ransom, 2016, p. 2). The Greenhouse Project is a similar initiative that provides patients with a more home-like program, allowing any house to transform itself into a care facility (Bowers, Nolet, & Jacobson, 2016). Finally, the Wellspring Model attempts to provide the highest quality of care by empowering their staff with knowledge, skills, and qualified management (Bowers et al., 2016). The models’ vestment of decision-making power and their degree of trust in their clients decide the variety of approaches.
Which has the Best Results?
The Eden Alternative may have the most chances for success due to its holistic approach and comprehensively structured care practice. The Greenhouse Project and the Wellspring Model require facilities to carry out extensive changes that are not always sustainable and, thus, undermine their results (Bowers et al., 2016). Conversely, the Eden Alternative is a more flexible and attainable model of care for the elderly with dementia, which takes into consideration each patient’s specific case (Wilby et al., 2016). Therefore, the nomination of this particular model as having the best results relies on its central components of patients’ independence and the possibility of quality evaluation.
Conclusion
The Eden Alternative is a nursing home model of care that places decision-making power into the hands of its clients and their families. Doing so allows patients with dementia to attain a better quality of life at a time when they are vulnerable by reinforcing their sense of self-value and independence. Of the three discussed models, the Eden Alternative provides the most sustainable process of care and, thus, permits achieving the most secure results.
References
Bowers, B., Nolet, K., & Jacobson, N. (2016). Sustaining culture change: Experiences in the green house model. Health Services Research, 51(S1), 398-417. Web.
Fornara, F., & Manca, S. (2017). Healthy residential environments for the elderly. In G. Fleury-Bahi, E. Pol, & O. Navarro (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology and quality of life research (pp. 441-465). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Wilby, F., Stryker, C. D., Hyde, D., & Ransom, S. (2016). Plotting the course of well-being: The Eden alternative well-being assessment tool. SAGE Open, 6(2), 1-9. Web.