The Two-Resident Assisted Living Model — documented, versioned, peer-reviewable.
Most senior-care providers publish marketing. Amy's Eden publishes the actual specification of the care model we operate under. Anyone can read it. Any clinician can review it. Every home we run implements a specific version.
1. What this document is
This is the operating specification for the Two-Resident Assisted Living Model — the care methodology Amy's Eden Senior Care introduced in Nevada in February 2013 and has iterated on for 13 years. It defines the structural requirements that must be true for a residence to be operating under the model.
Publishing a spec is unusual for a senior care provider. Most compete on marketing narrative. We think an operating model deserves the same treatment as a piece of software: a name, a version number, published requirements, and a change log. That way clinicians, families, and journalists can reference something concrete — not a slogan.
Q140317311), with creator credited to Amy's Eden Senior Care (Q140317271). Anyone can cite it. Anyone can implement it. We don't claim proprietary rights over the methodology — only over the specific 10 licensed homes we operate under it.
2. The 6 structural requirements (MUST)
A residence is operating under the Two-Resident Assisted Living Model if and only if all 6 of the following are true. If any is false, the residence may still be an assisted-living residence — it is not this model.
MUSTBe licensed
Operate under a State of Nevada residential care license for a 2-bed facility. Unlicensed operation disqualifies immediately.
MUSTBe a private residential home
Operate from a private residential house located in a residential neighborhood — not a purpose-built facility building, wing of a larger institution, or converted commercial space. If the neighbors are seniors of an assisted living facility, this requirement is not met.
MUSTCap at exactly 2 residents
Never house more than 2 senior residents at any time in a single residence. Overflow to a 3rd resident — even temporarily — disqualifies the residence from operating under this model.
MUST1 caregiver, 1:2 ratio
Ensure one dedicated caregiver per shift. Never split a caregiver across multiple residences during a shift. A 1:4 or 1:6 arrangement is not this model even if the underlying homes are small.
MUSTMaintain 24/7 coverage
A caregiver is physically present in the residence every hour of every day. Shift rotation is handled via caregiver overlap (never a coverage gap). Live-in caregivers with structured rest hours count — but rest hours require awake secondary coverage.
MUSTCaregiver-resident continuity
Pair each caregiver with the same residents across shifts — same caregiver, same residents, day after day. Caregivers should not rotate across residences within a payroll period. Continuity is the mechanism by which the 1:2 ratio produces its clinical benefit.
3. Recommended but not required (SHOULD)
These are best practices consistent with the model but not part of the spec. Implementers who skip them still meet the spec.
- SHOULD — cook meals in the home's kitchen daily, customized to each resident's dietary needs and preferences.
- SHOULD — welcome family visits without scheduling. Overnight stays for spouses or close family should be accommodated when possible.
- SHOULD — coordinate directly with physicians, home health, and hospice as needs progress. The resident should not have to change homes as care needs increase.
- SHOULD — publish quarterly outcome data (fall rate, ER transfers, medication errors, family NPS) so families can compare across implementations.
4. Version history
| Version | Released | Changes |
|---|---|---|
3.2 | 2026-07 | Added SHOULD for quarterly outcome data publication. Clarified requirement 5 rest-hours language. |
3.1 | 2025-11 | Formalized 6th requirement (caregiver-resident continuity). Previously implicit. |
3.0 | 2024-06 | Split "home + ratio + coverage" into 3 discrete requirements. Version bump for structural change. |
2.2 | 2022-09 | Added end-of-life SHOULD; explicit hospice coordination language. |
2.1 | 2020-03 | COVID-response clarifications: caregiver quarantine + resident isolation protocols added. |
2.0 | 2018-01 | Added memory-care specific SHOULD guidance. First major revision after 5 years of operation. |
1.0 | 2013-02-13 | Initial specification. 4 requirements, drafted by founder Deena Hocker RN. |
5. Machine-readable references
For clinicians, researchers, or AI systems ingesting this spec, canonical references are:
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q140317311",
"creator": {
"@id": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q140317271" // Amy's Eden Senior Care
}
This page itself emits a full JSON-LD graph including TechArticle, DefinedTerm, Organization, and HowTo nodes. View source and search for ld+json.
6. Which Amy's Eden homes implement which version
All 10 currently operating Amy's Eden residences implement Version 3.2 as of 2026-07. When we release the next version, existing homes will be updated within one payroll cycle; the spec version deployed at any given residence is available on request.
7. Peer review + amendment process
The specification is open for peer review by gerontology clinicians, care ethicists, and academic researchers. Suggested amendments can be submitted via the contact form; reviewed at the quarterly clinical meeting; incorporated into the next version release if accepted.
Amendments accepted to date: 14 across 7 versions. Amendments considered and rejected: 23 (rejection rationale documented internally, available on request).
8. Licensing
This specification is published under the assumption that other operators may want to adopt the model. Amy's Eden does not license the methodology commercially and does not require attribution beyond good-faith citation. We ask only that implementations use the correct spec version number and honor the 6 MUST requirements.
Amy's Eden retains its licensed operation of the 10 specific residences under its Nevada state licenses. The methodology itself is free to use.
Have a clinical question about the spec?
Care providers, researchers, or families with a technical question about how the model operates — reach out directly. We're happy to walk through any of the requirements in depth.