March 3rd, 2017
St. Joseph PACE Center
Conducted with Mary Hinton
Expert Characteristics: “Dedicated Caretaker”
Ashley Stump
Female, 35-45, Intake Coordinator at PACE
Extremely empathetic and patient-oriented
What drives her?
Improving the lives of the elderly, focusing on making them “safe and healthy at home”
What is her biggest point of pain?
Not being able to do enough for those who are already in elderly car facilities.
Top 3 Takeaways:
- Elderly need a “one-stop shop” to deal with many complicated aspects of elder care
- Elderly need tailored, individual care plans and advocates who work for them
- Success is improved social integration, home independence and safety, less burden on family.
Key Insights: Transportation solutions are crucial to helping the elderly operate independently; the little tasks are what fall through the cracks (safety equipment in bathroom, picking up groceries, etc)
Activities:
- Greeting elderly as they enter by name
- Asking questions about their homes, families, lives
- Facilitating their care plan, through doctor appointments and therapy hours
- Main 3 activities she focuses on helping elderly with:
- Walking and transfers
- Bathroom Use
- Diagnosis and Complications Consideration
- Determines fit for PACE of elderly who come seeking help
- Wants more awareness of the center and its resources
Environment:
- St Joseph PACE Center
- Indoor, large one-story facility
- Doctor’s office/clinic
- Physical Therapy room
- Large dining room
- Kitchen with culinary lessons
- Chapel (nondenominational and all-welcoming)
- Morning to early afternoon (8am-3pm)
- PACE Center is comforting, warm colors, well-lit, spacious, clean
Interactions:
- Constantly communicating and socializing with the elderly
- Extremely empathetic and considerate, pure-of-heart
- Recounted her favorite success story with near-tears of happiness
Objects:
- Smart Casual outfit, style conscious
- Drinking coffee
Users:
- Independent Elderly
- Other experts
Memorable Quotes:
“We want to have a holistic and proactive approach; holistic in regards to the total care package, and proactive in regards to our efforts to assist those who go unnoticed”
“Our participants often can’t hear well, but I wish they had some way to communicate daily with their families”
“They often need regular and consistent ‘cueing’ in order to accomplish tasks, so it’s important that they have someone to assist them and remind them to do basic things like take their medicine”