Chas Pulido Immersed in a nursing home to see what the day to day of residents in an assisted living home was like.
Date: 3/6/17
Type: Immersion
Location: Morningside Nursing Home
Team Participants: Mark Egan
User Characteristics: “Residents of Nursing Home”
- Average Age of Residents: around 77 years (60-94)
- All have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or Dementia, possibly another co-morbid disease.
- “Resident’s typically come midway way through the disease & leave if need to go to another facility or the disease ends (death).”
- “Attention span of resident’s is about 30 min.”
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: “One universal activity for Dementia patients is Music. It tends to trigger memories that are very near & dear to you, makes you think of better times.”
Daily Routine
- Day starts at 8
- Daily Activities
- No activity is the same from one day to the next
- Each day is the same every week however. Dementia population thrives on routine, this gives them something to look forward to.
- Dinner is served at 5:30pm
- Few structured activities after dinner.
***Day is customized to each resident
Top 3 Learnings:
- Security of knowing what’s coming next, is important for Dementia Patients
- Having a group of peers in the home helps make it easier for residents to get along & gives them motivation
- There are a few key factors regarding to keep in mind when picking out a nursing home: Cleanliness (There will be bool movement accidents, but there is a difference versus urine that has set in), clean faces, clean clothes, look at the nails of the people living there, unkept looks means trends, look at staff working there (everyone is entitled to have a bad day), but people should take joy in what they are doing there.
Key Insight – (1) A reason to live is the most important thing. Residents need motivation & tangible things to hold onto. (2) Family members/stakeholders need to keep in mind key factors when selecting a nursing home, this has a lot to do with the person’s longevity.
Activities:
- Examples offered in Nursing Home
- Gardening
- Family Visits & Children
- Entertainment: Guests come in & perform
- Animals as pets
- Daily Routine
- Wake Up: 8am
- Breakfast Served: 8am
- Daily Activities Time
- See above
- Dinner Served: 5:30pm
- Un-structured Activities
- Bed Time: Varies from resident to resident 7-9pm
Environment
- Morningside Nursing Home
- Toured facility
- Bedrooms
- Admin Office
- Front Desk
- Welcome Area
- Mid-Afternoon: 2-3:30pm
- Located in small forest in Suburbs of South Bend
- Houses around ~50 residents
Interactions:
- Our Activities
- Parked in Parking Lot
- Entered through double passcode protected doors
- Sat in Welcome Area
- Interviewed Executive Director
- Saw bedrooms of residents
- Conducted Card Sort in Welcome Area with Bob & Ronald
- Interviewed Bob & Ronald
- Left Facility
Objects:
- Board Games
- Television Set
- Tables, Chairs, & Couches
- Jugs of water & other drinks
Users:
- Patients
- Nursing Staff
- Administrators
- Loved Ones
- Guest Visitors