1. Understanding that loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering in a typical nursing home.
2. Commitment to surrendering the institutional point of view and adopting the human habitat model that makes pets, plants and children the pivots for daily life in the nursing home.
3. Providing easy access to companionship by promoting close and continuing contact between the elements of the human habitat and residents.
4. Providing opportunities to give as well as to receive care by promoting resident participation in the daily round of activities necessary to maintain the habitat.
5. Imbuing daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place.
6. De-emphasis upon a programmed activities approach to daily life and devotion of those resources to the maintenance and growth of the habitat.
7. De-emphasis upon the role of prescription drugs in the residents' daily life and commitment of these resources to the maintenance and growth of the habitat.
8. De-emphasis upon top-down bureaucratic authority in the home and seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority either with the residents or in the hands of those closest to the residents.
9. Understanding that Edenizing is a process, not a program, and that the habitat, once created, should be helped to grow and develop.
10. Recognition of leadership that places the need to improve residents’ quality of life over and above the inevitable objections to change. Leadership is the lifeblood of this process, and nothing can be substituted for this.

Application of the Eden Alternative makes a difference in the daily life of residents by improving their quality of life. A visitor to Bethany Manor instantly knows this nursing home is different in special ways because of the Eden Alternative.

First, there are the many small sitting areas and several lounges. Some areas have just two chairs, an end table and a lamp. Others have a couch, two or three easy chairs, an end table and a lamp. These are perfect places to sit and visit with family and friends. They are much like the living room in a home.

Then there are the animals. There are two dogs, several cats, an aviary, many birdcages, tanks of fish and a pond with fish and a waterfall. Visitors will observe residents enjoying petting and caring for the animals. Birdcages and fish tanks are not just in the halls and public areas, but also in resident rooms-as requested by the residents.

One cannot help but notice the many gardens and plants. There is a walking garden and plants too numerous to count. Again, these are cared for not only by the staff but also by the residents, as they did in their homes.