Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

chaotic back then.” I was told too that people who had a wheelchair or needed a walker
did not go into the formal dining room, which was given the name ‘The Scenic Dining
Room’ for its views overlooking the wooded area outside the windows. Furthermore,
Phyllis said that even though people came from an interdenominational Protestant
church in town, very little was said of religion in public. Tacoma Pastures started off as a
Christian endeavour, but it had to welcome people from different faiths in order to meet
its occupancy requirements.
Phyllis continued: “And now you had to talk to them about aging, there weren’t any
interventions, no surgeries; you didn’t rehab someone at 70-plus. The group in power
started aging, so the evolution started with them. They started to become frail.” She
recalled an instance where a prominent politician in the area, upon entering Tacoma
Pastures in the early 1980s did not want walkers in the scenic view dining room; yet he
had a walker himself! From talking to Phyllis, one gets the sense that there was a
tremendous fear of ageing. The residents did not talk about it, and Phyllis told me that
back then if you happened to slip and fall, you didn’t let anyone know, not even your
spouse. Phyllis tried to change that stigma and atmosphere of fear, but she said it was
hard, and the fear was so entrenched. Additionally, if someone had dementia back then
everyone including the staff would pretend that nothing was wrong. There was no offer
to take them to speech therapy. Needless to say, Aricept and Exelon medicine patches
were not available back then.
The health centre attached to the main building was a place designed for providing
nursing care, but it was understood that those who went there never made it back to the
main building. Phyllis recounted several incidents whereby people who moved to the
health centre lost all contact with their friends and acquaintances in the main building.
The health centre was the final stop, the place to go to die. People were afraid of the
health centre and rarely did they visit unless they had to. Our interview concluded with
Phyllis saying that: “Before people would often use the word failing and declining.
Today, we know better and say you’re simply aging, and so what I say to our residents is
we will all be dealing with it. So how can I help you with the process?”
Even though things have since changed, other things have remained the same.
According to the official 2010 United States census, the city where Tacoma Pastures is
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