Arden Wood Christian Science Nursing Home

Christian Science nursing homes and visiting Christian Science nurses offer a holistic approach to healing, care, and rehabilitation. They are based on the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

This map shows a number of Arden Wood Christian Science nursing home /organizations, as well as the locations of accredited Christian Science nurse training programs including The Christian Science Nursing Arts Training program at Arden Wood, and a list of the national organizations that offer visiting Christian Science nurses. You can click on any facility or organization for more information.

Arden Wood offers two levels of nursing home care: 1 a residential care facility with short-stay and transitional suites, as well as a specialized 70-bed memory support unit; 2 an adult day health center which serves residents in their own homes and in the community by providing them with skilled Christian Science nurse care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other services that help them live independently. In addition, Arden Wood is the only accredited Christian Science nursing home in North America that provides The Christian Science Nursing Arts Training, an in-depth, four-year training program for those who feel called to the ministry of Christian Science nursing.

Both facilities are owned by Arden Wood, a non-profit corporation that adheres to The Mother Church Manual and supports the activity of Christian Science nurses in accordance with the requirements of The Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s writings. Arden Wood is governed by a board of directors. The current members are Kim Thorndike, president; Mary Hollister, vice president; and Spring Shutt, treasurer. In October, three board members attended a conference for UK and European Christian Science nurses in London. Esther Joscelyn stepped down as secretary and Debbie Stucker was elected in her place.

The Board of Directors began to work on legally incorporating the association, and in March of 1998 Christian Science Nursing Communication Network, Inc. was incorporated in the state of Oklahoma. The new name reflects the broader scope of the organization, which now includes not just nursing homes and visiting Christian Science nurses, but also Christian Science practitioners, teachers, and students. In addition, the CSNCN Newsletter, Vision Now!, was started and a biennial International Christian Science Nursing Conference planned.

The CSNCN website was developed to provide a forum for Christian Science nurses around the world to share ideas and resources. In order to sustain this effort, it was decided that it was time to charge a nominal fee for subscriptions in order to cover the costs of the site. In the summer of 1998, CSNCN opened its Conference to the entire field and moved to a conference venue in Akron, Ohio. The 1998 ICSNC focused on “Renewing our vision: supporting healing through skillful Christian Science nursing care and training, inspired living, and Christly service.”