The Ron Smith Care Centre hopes to become one of the first accredited Eden Alternative facilities in South Africa this year.
The Rand Aid Association-run care centre started exploring the Eden Alternative philosophy nearly two years ago and has since sent staff members on a number of training sessions offered by Eden Alternative South Africa. In the beginning of February, 17 senior Rand Aid staff members attended an intensive three-day association training course at the Lyndhurst-based care centre.
The Eden Alternative is part of a world-wide culture change movement that seeks to ensure person-centred care replaces institutional and medical models of care. It addresses the loneliness, helplessness and boredom that causes the bulk of suffering among older people.
“We hope to qualify for Eden Association status during the course of this year,” said Ms Helen Petrie, the complex head of Ron Smith Care Centre. One of the Rand Aid staffers who attended the course was Sister Lorraine Martiny, who has been with the NPO for 20 years and has seen radical changes in the care of elderly people during those two decades.
“What excites me about the changes we have been making at the Ron Smith Care Centre as we have embraced the Eden Alternative philosophy is the wonderful response by residents and their families; as one man said, we have restored his father’s dignity,” said Sister Martiny. She said they are doing everything they can to make residents feel at home; if they want to get out of bed at 9am that is fine. If they want breakfast in bed, they will accommodate them.
“We are not regimental,” said Sister Martiny. “We need to be more creative when we care for the elderly. Small things can make their lives more worthwhile,” said Mr Stephan Fourie, who is an occupational therapist. The changes in the way the care centre is run are echoed in the extensive renovations that have been taking place over the past year. Paint, décor and plants are being used to transform the centre into a warm and inviting space. “The latest Eden Alternative training targeted managers and senior staff members who can be a driving force for change, people who can help create a place where we can easily see ourselves happily accommodated in our own golden years,” said Ms Petrie. One of the new introductions to the care centre are shepherdesses, whose job is to accompany those residents who are suffering from dementia when they feel compelled to be up and moving.
“We are totally against locked doors, and instead have appointed two caring, empathetic women who walk with the patients and keep them happy and safe,” said Ms Petrie. For more information on the Ron Smith Care Centre and the Eden Alternative, call 011 882-6296.
