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

Figure 6
Care plans and Point-of-Care laptop station
Each neighbourhood is electronically locked. Residents looking to leave Memory Care
for a medical appointment, or even to the beauty salon just downstairs need a caregiver
escort. For many of the residents with severe dementia this is a safety requirement.
Most of the residents in Memory Care were labelled wander risks in their care plans.
Every now and then, a resident managed to escape Tacoma Pastures. This happened
when a resident was left unattended after the conclusion of an activity or some kind of
social function downstairs. Sometimes, the caregivers lost track of the residents,
especially when they were in the midst of taking residents back to their respective
rooms and neighbourhoods. In the neighbourhoods, and when the residents are not in
their rooms lying down or being taken to the toilet, some of them sit in the living room.
The residents who are in the living room, however, do not usually pay attention to the
television. Unlike the nursing home stereotype, where residents are portrayed as falling
asleep in their chairs with their heads propped up with the palm of their hand, the
residents in Memory Care did not appear bored nor did one get the impression that they
were waiting eagerly for a family visitor to come by. They sat and exchanged short
words and one-liners with each other. Some of these exchanges amounted to nothing
but a confirmation of some situation or simple commentary. For instance, when
Christine who is able to navigate back to her room using her walker, gets up out of the
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