Hubert H. Humphrey once said that ultimately a society will be judged by the care given to the very young, very old and to those
struggling with disabilities and challenges. We are building a Community to support our elders and those with handicaps. A
physician working with TBI, William O'Dowd, put the concept another way when he said, "We might well judge our society not by the
types of services it offers or the amount of money it spends, but rather by the number of viable identities it makes available for
its citizens. Before their challenges of injury or age, people fit easily into the community. After, they often describe
feeling isolated, misunderstood and angry. We need to build communities which offer opportunities for all of us to contribute
through our abilities and to share through our capacities to love. Ultimately, this is what we all want, whether we have had
injuries or come by our particular limitations less dramatically. Rehabilitation is not just about making people better for
communities. It is also about making communities better for people."
Although the focus of each of the three communities of Northern Pines is different, it is important to note somethings they
hold in common. Consistency in staffing is the most important commonality. Our frail elders are more comfortable when assisted
by familiar caregivers sensitive to the particular needs and desires of each. In our communities, consistent staffing is a
comforting fact of life for our elders. Also important is the fact that staff members are not defined by rigid titles or
job descriptions. Of course medically trained personnel will deliver health care, but they will also fulfill other functions.
Caregiving, housekeeping, cooking, visiting and more of life's regular activities are everyone's job and everyone's joy. After
all, in our own families and communities we share the work and the fun of daily life, why wouldn't we do the same in our
extended family here? But just like at home, our elder's need for privacy in a homelike environment is respected. Homelike
rooms with personal furnishings and treasures, magazines and comfortable furniture groupings are common in our communities.
And all communities are committed to the Eden Principles in all facets of life. Each community is continually working to
provide a human habitat for the residents. Loneliness, helplessness and boredom are being banished in this homelike
environment inhabited by elders and frequented by youngsters, lively with plants and animals and staffed with caregivers who
understand that variety and spontaneity make life worth living.
All in the community are enriched by the fellowship of the community. People united in a purpose, getting together and
enjoying each other, the spirit of staff, elders and families, brought together by the like concerns of the community, is fellowship
in the true meaning of the word. We see its impact daily: a resident sleeping on the sofa in the living room, touched by
sunlight, who says "just like home" when he awakes. Fresh blueberry pancakes one Sunday morning and Belgian waffles the next,
cooked on an iron brought from home. A daughter who describes her mother's new interest in life and living as, "just like a
phoenix rising from the ashes". We believe it is fellowship in the true sense of the Greek origin, 'phileo', the love that
draws people together in purpose.
"Affirmation" from That All May Worship by the National Organization on Disability, expresses this thought well in a prayer,
excerpted here: "...As God's creations, we are fashioned uniquely, each endowed with individuality of body, mind and spirit...
Each of us has abilities; each seeks fulfillment and wholeness. Each of us has disabilities; each knows isolation and
incompleteness. Seeking shelter from the vulnerability we all share... by affirmation and life, hope and joy, we celebrate
and serve one another, rejoicing in our diversity, we transform and serve the world, until we become a Community which reflects
God's Oneness and Peace." Our vision is that Northern Pines be that Community.
