Nicholas Homolka immersed in an assisted living care facility in order to observe the pros and cons of living outside of the home.
Date: 3/4/17
Type: Immersion
Location: Wood Ridge Assisted Living
Team Participants: Connor De Mill, Nicholas Homolka
User Characteristics: “Residents of Assisted Living Care”
- Average Age of Residents: around 77 years (60-94)
- Cheaper living option with 24/7 care and surveillance from nurses
- “Not just here, but every place I’ve worked the residents have had issues with the way things were managed. Administrative issues. They want to see stuff changed and who is in authority.”
- “The administrator here is pretty cool about issues. She literally has an open-door policy where residents are encouraged to come in and share their issues. She will get on it then.”
Assisted Living Duration: Varies largely for Residents
Arrival: Referred by another facility, doctor, or family home (Where primary caregivers have been family)
Memorable Quotes from Interview: “Actually not trying to be funny but they complain about everything.”
Daily Routine
- Day starts at 8
- Daily Activities
- Breakfast: 8 am
- Lunch: 12:30 pm
- Dinner: 5:30 pm
- Meals are on a certain schedule so there is a good sense of variety
- Open to use the facility in whatever way they desire
- Certain group activities are offered
*Day is personal for each resident (do not have to participate)
Top 3 Learnings:
- Assisted Living homes are somewhat like apartment complexes, they just have the added benefit of nurse care and surveillance
- The residents all have different situations, and one resident could be very active (like using an Amazon Echo and playing Candy Crush) or very inactive (sitting on the living room couch all day)
- Family members do not visit as often since the residents are more independent. Thus, the residents must get to know each other or live in solitude.
Key Insights – (1) Doing anything besides sitting on the couch all day is helpful. Simple tasks such as doing one’s own laundry keeps the mind working for a longer time (2) Being alone is extremely deteriorating to one’s health. Retirees enjoy discussions about anything, so it is important to visit loved ones and spend some time with retirees (3) Retirees do not enjoy the care they receive, and would much rather be in their homes and not bossed around.
Activities:
- Examples offered in Nursing Home
- Gardening
- Family Visits & Children
- Television
- Music
Environment
- Wood Ridge Assisted Living
- 67 residents
- Toured facility
- Bedrooms- singles and doubles
- Administration Office
- Front Desk
- Welcome Area
- Living rooms
- Laundry rooms
- Early-Afternoon: 12-3 pm
- Other assisted living homes nearby
Interactions:
- Our Activities
- Parked in Parking Lot
- Entered through two sets of doors
- Sat in Welcome Area
- Met with Angela to set things up as well as take the tour
- Placed graffiti wall in employee rest area
- Observed lunch time in the cafeteria, the busiest time of the day
- Interviewed Matthew and Annie
- Left Facility
Objects:
- Board Games
- Television Sets
- Tables, Chairs, & Couches
- Water coolers
- Garden
- Laundry machines
Users:
- Residents
- Nursing Staff
- Administrators
- Loved Ones
- Guest Visitors