FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: July 6, 2011
CONTACT: Ms. Debra Boudreau
PHONE/EMAIL: 902-245-4718 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(Digby, NS) Tideview Terrace has reaffirmed its commitment to improving quality of care and quality of life for the people who live and work there by completing the first major Milestone of The Path to Mastery™: The Art of Creating a Caring Community. This powerful new tool developed by The Eden Alternative^® guides organizations through the process of transforming their culture by applying person-directed care practices. Through this approach, decisions and actions around care honour the voices and choices of care recipients and those working most closely with them.

The Eden Alternative is a national leader in the “culture change” movement in long-term care, most notably in nursing homes and other institutional settings. Through the Path to Mastery, long-term care organizations can now share and benefit from the experiences of hundreds of homes that have successfully transformed their care environments.  Tideview Terrace believes its completion of Milestone 1 is a legacy to future generations of leaders.  Lessons learned can be shared with others, ensuring that Elders and employees will continue to benefit from culture change efforts.

“Step by step, the Path to Mastery Milestones will guide our organization further down the road to successful culture change,” says Ms. Debra Boudreau, Administrator,  “We, at Tideview Terrace, have been on this journey for 5  years. Our experience with each Milestone will be shared with other organizations to inspire them to initiate these types of change.”

Boudreau shares that completing Milestone 1 has helped them to reflect on positive accomplishments and to appreciate how far they have come with putting the Eden Principles into practice.  "By completing Milestone 1, we have demonstrated real progress in moving our organization toward person-directed care.  For example, our new facility is designed with residents living in houses rather than units.  Their care needs will all be met within their own house.  We created sunny living spaces and functional working spaces for everyone at Tideview Terrace.”

This news is timely and important given our country’s current demographic makeup and the aging of our population. Changing the culture of care environments is important to overall public health. Improving the way we, as a society, provide long-term care will have a significant impact on millions of Canadians, as the population ages and begins to rely more on support to meet basic daily needs.

The Eden Alternative is an international, non-profit organization that provides education and consultation for organizations across the entire continuum of care.  As a person-directed care philosophy, it is dedicated to creating care environments that promote quality of life for Elders and those who support them as care partners. Research has shown this leads to improved quality of care and higher rates of satisfaction for everyone involved, while also benefitting the bottom line.

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