If you have expertise, a vocation, or simply a strong interest in dogs, cats, or birds... if you work with or enjoy plants... or if you have a love for children, the Masonic Homes needs you!

The Masonic Homes in Elizabethtown is now a registered Eden Alternative™ site, which means that the Masonic Homes' community has strengthened its commitment to creating a "life worth living" for residents receiving health care services and assisted living services. This dedication to transforming the Masonic Health Care Center and the Freemasons Building into warm, vibrant, homes requires that residents have daily, continual contact with animals, plants, and children... just as they had all of their lives.

The Masonic Homes' success in eliminating the three plagues of the elderly -- loneliness, helplessness, and boredom -- is dependent upon its ability to bring variety and spontaneity into residents' everyday lives. If you have some time to give, some experience to share, or just feel compelled to help residents reclaim their right to live a life worth living, call the Masonic Homes at (717) 367-1121, and contact the extension for one of Masonic Homes' Eden Alternative™ Associates: Cathy Misiewicz, RN, extension 33176; Mark Eyer, extension 33306; Vicki Gillmore, NHA, extension 33139; Joyce Heisey, RN, extension 33526; Kirk Rakos, extension 33191; or Lori Seiders, extension 33697.

Implementing the Eden Alternative™ is a process that requires a lot of education for staff, residents, volunteers, and the community. For this reason, and to ensure that the change is gradual and welcome in residents' lives, it will take some time and planning before some of the more visual signs of the Eden Alternative™ will be seen on the campus, such as dogs, cats, and other animals.

The Masonic Homes' goal is to bring the Eden Alternative™ into the lives of residents at the Pittsburgh, Sewickley, and Warminster locations as well.

For more information about the Eden Alternative™, visit: www.edenalt.com