Care Partnership: Breathing New Life into Giving & Receiving

For eight years, Laura Beck (MPAff) has served on the staff of The Eden Alternative, an international, non-profit organization focused on creating quality of life for Elders and their care partners.  Currently Learning and Development Guide for the organization, she began her work with The Eden Alternative developing a way to apply the Eden Alternative Philosophy to home and community-based care. 

As the daughter of an Eden-nurtured Elder who lived with Alzheimer’s disease for ten years, Laura has experienced first-hand the powerful effect of person-directed care, particularly as it impacts the lives of individuals living with dementia.  Her personal journey with her own aging parents and a young son, Ethan, inspire her professional commitment to changing the culture of care via the creation of supportive, intergenerational communities.

Here are a few things we will discuss...

• Defining Elders as "people who by virtue of life experience are here to teach us how to live."
• Thus, Elders have a gift or legacy to give, no matter who they are or what their limitations might be
• Distinguish between caregiving and care partnering
• The healing power of being able to give as well as receive

Here is The Eden Alternative Website http://www.edenalt.org/