Interviewed, Veteran, Ronald Lee Cannon who is in the higher extreme of the retired age population.
Date: 3/6/17
Type: Interview
Location: Morningside Nursing Facility
Team participants: Conducted interview alone
User Characteristics: “Member of Assisted Living Facility”
- Male: Age 77
- Korean War Veteran: Served in the Army for 4 years
- Retired Electrician, repaired TV’s
- Been retired 12 years
- Married 20 years, divorced 2003
- 3 Kids (2 Daughters, 1 Son) & 7 Grand Kids
What is this person about – what drives him? Ronald is driven by stating active, he likes tinkering with things and even though he is retired he is the TV maintenance guy at the nursing home (the same thing he used to do before he retired).
What is this person’s biggest point of pain? Ronald’s biggest pain point is memory, he has an early form of dementia. It is tough for him to remember specific timeframes & do mental math. When ask how long he has been retired he said “I am 77 & retired at 65 so what is that about 20 years?”
Memorable Quote from Interview: “I like being active & having a routine. I look forward to the little things.”
Top 3 Learnings:
- Routines & daily activities are customized to each resident, dementia effects everyone differently so all events are tailored.
- While daily activities may vary, weekly routines are generally the same
- Cleanliness & staff were big reasons why Ronald likes Morningside
Key Insight – (1) Having weekly routines be the same gives residents things to look forward to, no matter how small, this gives them a reason to carry on. (2) Ronald was still fairly-capable even after being in assisted living for 7 years, this is perhaps because many of the activities he used before retirement are replicated in his day to day routine at the nursing home.
Activities:
- Used to play Baseball & Garden
- Favorite Activities: Hanging out with Friend’s, Watching TV, & Jigsaw Puzzles
- Routine
- Wake up 6am
- Breakfast
- Watch TV till dinner time (Watch NCIS: Mark Harmon, NCIS LA)
- Goes to bed shortly after dinner at ends (7pm-8pm)
- Likes writing jokes & poems
Environment:
- Morningside Nursing Home Facility (Been there 3 months)
- Had prior been at Signature Healthcare assisted living for 7 years
- Daughter also works in the home (Head of Nursing)
- Mid-afternoon
- In welcome area of nursing home
Interactions:
- Had shaking hands, but a firm hand shake
- Noted that he liked Morningside, while he has been there
Objects:
- Sitting in Wheel Chair
- Wearing his favorite team, The Chicago Cub’s, World Series Championship T-Shirt
- Snicker’s Bar
- During the interview one of the nurses brought Ronald his daily treat
- This is something that he looks forward to
Users:
- Ronald Lee Cannon