Senior Living Visit
This assignment gives you the opportunity to learn more about different living arrangements for elders. You will visit a senior living setting and spend about one hour learning about the organization.
Arrange a visit by contacting someone at the site first before you visit. This may be a director of activities, outreach, marketing or someone else who would like to help students learn more about the setting. You can find a list of areas facilities in your area at www.eldercare.gov.
1.Charlie Robertson is a good resource from Park Village Pines, which is in the west side of Kalamazoo/Oshtemo off of Stadium Drive. You can find directions on their website. http://www.parkvillagepines.org
2.White Oaks Assisted Living and Dementia Care – 300 White Oak Rd, Lawton, MI. Call Jason Burghart or Jill Pride any weekday for a tour. 269-624-4811.
3.Bickford of Portage. 4707 W. Milham, Portage, MI 49024. Cheryl Harris can give you a tour. 269-372-2100.
4.River Manor Senior Housing in Galesburg can be toured usually between 10 and 4 on Monday.
5.Cedar Park Senior Housing in Schoolcraft can be toured usually between 10 and 4 on Friday. Please contact Diane Durian 269-330-6989 with questions.
6.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A GROUP TOUR, PLEASE EMAIL ME DAYS AND TIMES THAT WORK BEST FOR YOU. SEVERAL OPTIONS WILL BE HELPFUL.
1.You must identify yourself as a WMU student working on a class assignment.
2.You must get prior approval from a staff person, or a resident you know. This project is not research, it is fine to use real names, but use your best judgment when referring to the people you meet, for residents and staff members.
3.Do not contact Friendship Village, The Fountains at Bronson Place, or Heritage Community in Kalamazoo directly without instructions from Susan. Group times may be set up so those large organizations are not overwhelmed with individual requests. It is fine to contact these places directly if you already have something set up through another organization or are already involved with facility, such as through volunteering. It is fine to set it up if you have a connection. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A GROUP TOUR, PLEASE EMAIL ME DAYS AND TIMES THAT WORK BEST FOR YOU. SEVERAL OPTIONS WILL BE HELPFUL.
4.Do not visit a nursing home/skilled nursing facility unless it is part of a larger organization, which means having an Assisted Living Facility and/or and Independent Living Facility as part of the group. It must be part of a continuing care retirement community. Please visit eldercare.gov. to find a location.
5.Identify the community you visited and list the name (this can be one close to home) and describe what type it is (Continuing Care Retirement Community, Assisted Living, Senior Housing, etc.)
6.Describe your experiences during this visit:
a) When did you visit:
i) Time of day
ii) Day of week
iii) Type of weather
b) Who did you meet (staff, managers , residents, etc.):
c) What did you see – describe the place
d) What did you learn
e) What surprised you
f) The positive and negative aspects of this setting
g) If you were 85 years old, how would you feel about living there
h) Please include a conclusion about this experience
Please try to integrate some of what you learned in class and demonstrates some analytical thinking. You cannot obtain full credit if you just describe the setting.
Write 3-5 pages on this experience and submit via the dropbox. The paper should be double-spaced and submitted as a Word or PDF document.
