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In October 2000, New Vista Care Home in Burnaby became the first long-term care facility in British Columbia to adopt the 'Eden Alternative'. This philosophy, conceived by Dr. Bill Thomas, seeks to rid the traditional model of care of the "three plagues of long term care - helplessness, loneliness and boredom". It shifts the focus to the "elders" allowing them to make choices about how they live their lives. It has also empowered staff members to be able to care for elders as they would like to have their own parents treated, in a caring and homelike workplace. These changes have made an enlightened difference in the delivery of food services at New Vista.
New Vista Care Home is a 236-bed, intermediate care facility. Private rooms are located in one of five "villages" that include three secure units especially designed for elders with Alzheimer's-like dementia. The adult day program operates on week days, supporting approximately 60 elders/families from the surrounding community. The care home itself is part of a larger "campus of care" supporting at least 600 tenants in the surrounding seniors' housing.
Becoming an "edemzed community" required significant...