For Immediate Release
July 7, 2010

Contact:
Deane Beebe, Media Relations Director
718.928.2033 (office) / 646.285.1039 (cell)
dbeebe@PHInational.org

New York, NY — PHI and The Eden Alternative have formed an official alliance to bring the PHI Coaching Approach^SM to the international community of Eden subscribers.

PHI works to improve the lives of people who need home and residential care — and the lives of the workers who provide that care.

The PHI Coaching Approach^SM provides the core skills necessary to support the empowerment of consumers who receive long-term services and supports and the staff who support them, and the development of significant relationships between the two.

“PHI and the Eden Alternative are a natural fit,” said Cean Eppelheimer, PHI Midwest Training & Organizational Development Specialist and Certified Eden Associate, Educator, and Mentor.

“At the recent International Eden Conference, the participants’ level of interest and excitement in PHI’s coaching skills was high. Everyone immediately recognized the relevance of the information to the culture transformation process and how it can enhance it.”

“The Eden Alternative and PHI are leaders in the culture change movement and share a common mission to improve the lives of people who need care and those who care for them,” said Chris Perna, CEO of The Eden Alternative, which has been working to de-institutionalize the culture and environment of nursing homes and other long-term care institutions.

“This is a natural opportunity for two organizations with similar values to partner together to serve our common constituencies. The Eden Alternative team is very excited about the potential impact of this powerful partnership on the culture change movement.”

To facilitate the widespread use of the PHI skills-based approach in The Eden Alternative’s culture-change process, Eden’s recently released culture change guide — the Path to Mastery^TM — includes information on the PHI Coaching Approach.

The PHI Coaching Approach helps eldercare providers build within their staffs five essential skills that support relationship-centered caregiving:

• Active listening;
• Self reflection/self management;
• Clear non-judgmental communication;
• Collaborative problem solving; and
• Participative leadership.

“The culture of an organization is created one conversation at a time,” Eppelheimer said. “In order to create a healthy culture of mutual respect and empowerment, people need fundamental coaching and communication skills. We aren’t born with these skills — we need to be taught. The PHI Coaching Approach brings these skills to the culture transformation process.”

The PHI and Eden Alternative partnership was recently announced at the 5th International Eden Alternative Conference, where PHI staff held well-attended workshops on the PHI Coaching Approach^SM.

Many long-term care employers and staff across the nation have been trained in the PHI Coaching Approach to help them build the skills essential to create relationship-centered caregiving.

More information on PHI Training & Organizational Development Services, including the PHI Coaching Approach^SM and implementing culture change in nursing homes, is available on PHI’s website.

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About PHI
PHI (www.phinational.org) works to improve the lives of people who need home and residential care — and the lives of the workers who provide that care. Using our workplace and policy expertise, we help consumers, workers, employers, and policymakers improve eldercare and disability services by creating quality direct-care jobs. Our goal is to ensure caring, stable relationships between consumers and workers, so that both may live with dignity, respect, and independence.