The same can be said of the 132 residents inside, who live out their days with a dignity not always found in S.C. nursing homes.

Within the walls of the nondescript one-story building on the south side of Spartanburg, the meandering hallways crackle with warmth and vitality -- along with the occasional barking of a dog and the squawk of a parrot.

The dog, Smoky, the parrot, Morris, three cats, an assortment of colorful finches and a long-haired guinea pig named Rhoda contribute to an atmosphere that employees, residents and family members alike say demonstrates what a nursing home can be. By all accounts, this is no holding cell where the no-longer-manageable go to die.

Mountainview is one of about 40 S.C. nursing homes experimenting with the Eden Alternative, which is based on the theory that growth and development should continue throughout a person's life. The Eden approach, founded in 1991 by a nursing home director in upstate New York, espouses the idea that residents' morale and overall emotional well-being are vital to healthy aging.

"When the human spirit is not treated, people tend not to do well," said Wilson Dillard, Mountainview's administrator. "And with the elderly, they die."

Residents' family members say the impact of that philosophy, while sometimes imperceptible to the eye, permeates Mountainview, a nonprofit home that welcomes disabled younger people in need of long-term care as well as elderly Medicaid patients.

"I can't say enough good things about it, and I hate nursing homes," said Peggy Ford, whose 85-year-old mother, Martha Ford, has lived at Mountainview for nearly two years.

Ford, an only child and her mother's only living relative, began investigating nursing homes after her mother's Alzheimer's caused her to wander and become more than Ford could handle. She said she visited every nursing home within a 40-mile radius, and, "every time I went in one, I almost got sick at my stomach."

Ford went to Mountainview, the last home on her list, around 5 p.m. on a weeknight. She returned around lunchtime several days later, and then again on a weekday morning.

Each time the place was quiet, but not morbidly so. There were animals and plants, and the residents spoke to one another frequently. Many were engaged in activities or games.

The facility was spotless, she said.

Ford couldn't put her finger on any one thing, she said. But somewhere between the animals and plants, the close attention to cleanliness and the upbeat atmosphere, the place felt as much like home as a nursing home possibly could.

"It makes it feel comfortable," she said. "Alive."

The success of the approach is borne out in inspections by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, which has found a total of four minor deficiencies in the last three annual inspections.

The Eden program allowed Mountainview to build on the high level of care it was already providing, Dillard said. In his 27 years at the facility, allegations of abuse and neglect are rare -- and none has been confirmed.

Only about six complaints of any kind have been lodged with the state during those years, he said. Although they concerned relatively minor care issues, Dillard said they reminded his staff that "as good as we are and as hard as we work, we still fall short."

Two lawsuits by residents' families against the home were settled for "nominal amounts" several years ago, Dillard said, but neither involved abuse or neglect.

The home maintains a waiting list of 25-30 people, he said.

By making itself more inviting -- or so the theory goes -- an Eden facility increases visitor traffic, engages residents and staff with one another and with people outside, and adds to the vitality of residents' lives.

At Mountainview, Dillard said, the Eden philosophy has meshed perfectly with efforts that were already under way when Mountainview turned to the Eden philosophy in 1999.

Randy Lee, president of the S.C. Health Care Association, said visiting Mountainview "is an inspirational experience."

Perhaps for that reason, the home has a steady parade of visitors -- school and church groups, scout troops, family members -- traipsing through every day.

Residents and staff share in the care and feeding of plants and animals, and in keeping the place spotless and odor-free. Barry Jennings, a resident of the home for more than 20 years, helps care for Smoky. Bonnie Hutchins, another resident, looks after Morris.

The animals contribute to an atmosphere that makes visitors -- or as Dillard described them, "anybody that's willing to take a chance and come see us" -- feel welcome.

"When they're coming to visit great-grandmother, they say 'Oh, that's the place with the animals,'‘" he explained.

Students from the nearby S.C. School for the Deaf and Blindhave grown so comfortable in the home that when winter weather knocked out their power in December, they spent the night at Mountainview.

After one visit just before Christmas, a group of students from the school gathered up their coats from the home's front lobby. Some hovered near a newly decorated Christmas tree; others admired fish in a large aquarium along the wall.

"We love 'em," Chip Walters, a teacher at the school, said of Mountainview residents and staff.

As the students departed, Dillard told the story of a child on a visit who "couldn't have been more than 4 years old" approaching the wheelchair of one of Mountainview's grumpier residents, a double amputee.

"Where is your legs?" the child asked pointedly.

"They hurt so much I had them cut off," the old man replied without smiling.

"Cool!" the child said, and streaked away.

Dillard tells the story, and many more like it, with a sense that life around Mountainview is intrinsically interesting.

Staffers seem to share that view. Many have stayed on for years, although Dillard said the home's wages are in line with those at most S.C. nursing homes.

One employee, Hester Rook, retired four years ago after 39 years as a certified nursing assistant -- then came back.

"It's a hard job, but I just like doing it," she said with a smile. "It's something you have to be committed to. If you're not committed to it, you're not going to stay -- or come back."