EDMOND — A close relationship with her grandmother and a strong belief people that belong at home during their last days drove an Edmond resident to provide a place that feels like home away from home to its residents.

Eden Care Homes in Edmond is owned by Shannon McClure, who is also the executive director. Throughout her professional nursing career, McClure has instinctively gravitated toward elder care.

“I was very close to my grandmother who died on hospice care in the early 1990s, and I believe people belong at home,” McClure said. “Sometimes it just isn’t feasible.”

Having witnessed the rapid cognitive and physical decline too often experienced by her patients who were transferred from the familiarity of home into large institutional settings, McClure knew there had to be a better way. Reflecting on her home care experience, the solution became obvious — an elder care living option in a traditional home setting.

The home provides the comfort of a traditional family home with professional care and support and will create a naturally therapeutic living environment for elders who can no longer remain in their own home, McClure said.

“I looked at at least 50 residences before I found one that could be renovated to provide what I was looking for,” McClure said. “I wanted an open floor plan and wide doorways were a necessity as well as easily accessible bathrooms.”

Saying person-centered care is difficult to achieve in larger settings, at Eden Care there are two staff members for the five patients who will reside there.

McClure, who is a longtime Edmond resident, is an experienced registered nurse and health care administrator and has multiple professional credentials in elder care including certifications in residential care/assisted living, home health care, hospice and palliative care and Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

Eden Care Cottage will be staffed 24 hours a day by certified nursing personnel with extensive ongoing training in the care of elders. McClure lives just minutes away and will be actively involved in the home’s daily routine.

The primary aide in the home will cook, clean, plan activities and interact with the members of the home. A housekeeper will come in once a week.

An Eden Care Physician is available for routine home visits and is available by phone 24 hours a day to consult with staff for emergency situations.

“Eden Care Cottage is not institutional — it looks and feels like a home, because it is a home,” McClure said. “Our intimate home setting will give the elder, their family and staff the opportunity to really get to know each other and a close-knit ‘family’ will naturally develop.”

McClure said that Eden Care’s higher staffing ratio means more staff time spent with the resident.

There are a variety of in-home therapies specifically designed for elders as appropriate to each individual resident, including: outdoor walks (weather permitting), music therapy, nature therapy, arts and crafts, reminiscence therapy, pet therapy, aromatherapy, memory cards/board games, memory board bingo, puzzles, gardening, cooking, baking, outdoor BBQs/picnics and much more. If there are activities that are meaningful to the resident, but are beyond their functional level they are broken down into manageable tasks to ensure success (such as assisting the staff to fold laundry and setting the dinner table).  

The cottage is just north of Edmond’s Oak Tree/Coffee Creek area and rests on a private wooded acreage featuring raised flower and culinary gardens, tranquil water features and multiple naturally shaded areas. The residence will offer both private and companion bedroom suites with views of the property.

The homes’ décor and furnishings include antique and vintage pieces carefully hand-selected with elders in mind, including an antique upright grand piano from Edmond’s historic Kivlehen House donated by Mariana Lloyd of Keller Williams.

McClure said at this time there has been a lot of interest in the Eden Care Homes’ concept and she knows there is a lot of need.

“We renovated our first home in Edmond, but if we decide to expand the next home we will probably build,” McClure said.

The Eden Care Cottage is scheduled to open Sept. 1, and McClure said advance reservations from the community will be accepted beginning July 1. Because the Cottage will only accommodate five residents, availability is limited. For more information, contact Eden Care’s reservation line at 285-5983 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation and personal tour, or visit online at

www.edencarehomes.com.