The Eden Alternative won't work without the planning and the support of everybody on the staff, she says. You should start it all with a big bang to create excitement about the changes, she advises. When Whispering Pines changed to a team-based management concept, she said only two employees decided not to stay. One was a department head who had been at the home for 19 years, she said. Fontaine says another of the aims of The Eden Alternative is to give the certified nursing assistants more power to help make decisions about their schedules and about their work environment.
Employees have some flexibility with schedules.