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

the third floor is electronically locked and referred to as a ‘neighbourhood’ taking its
respective names from local rivers. Each neighbourhood has its own living space and
dining room. The river neighbourhoods are devoted to those residents with dementia
and Alzheimer’s. The second floor of the main building serves as the main public space,
where visitors come to sign in and wait for their loved ones. Additionally, the formal
dining room is also located on the second floor just steps away from the entrance. The
second floor also has two hallways devoted to studio apartments designated
Independent Living. One of these halls leads out to the garden, which features an
impressive pond and waterfall, courtesy of a $25,000 donation. Meeting rooms, the
kitchen for the formal dining room, the director’s office, and the mailroom are also
located in this third hallway, which leads past the solarium to the CHR. Because the
main building is perched on a hill, the CHR is located further down the hill and has only
three levels. The bottom level of the CHR can be reached through the floor of the main
building just past the Alzada Penderson Ballroom and down the hall from the beauty
salon and exercise room. Walking past a set of electronically secured doors one spots an
8 ft. high birdcage with finches. Past this and through another set of electronically
locked doors is the CHR, which because of its SNF license operates more like a hospital.
Even though the resident centre and the CHR both belong to Tacoma Pastures, they are
run by two different directors and have a completely different staff of caregivers and
nurses. The first floor has small corridors for people who are intending to stay short
term; the people here are mostly recovering from surgery or have medical conditions
that require specialised nursing.
On the first floor of the CHR, there are also offices for nurses and social workers along
with the rehabilitation centre (a gym replete with rehabilitation and medical
equipment) and another dining room. Past the dining room is another entrance to
Tacoma Pastures used mainly by the ambulance to take people in and out of the CHR
and the resident centre. This entrance is situated on the back end of Tacoma Pastures
allowing for ambulances to transfer the recently deceased in black bags in a less
conspicuous way. The second and third floors of the CHR have two hallways devoted to
skilled nursing. In the CHR, two people usually share a room. The second floor of the
CHR is known to have residents who are capable of wheeling themselves around, and
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