Update from Bridge 2

Schematic showing the interaction of two end-users

Diagram explaining some of our platform’s features

Update from Bridge

Using the Design Thinking Process, we began by identifying challenges in international development. Through initial literature and online research we confirmed the challenge and began to identify potential solutions. With a draft idea and supporting scenarios of the product we started interviewing stakeholders and potential beneficiaries.

Define

During this stage, we defined 7 stakeholder groups and how they were impacted with the defined challenge. From this perspective we tailored the product to overcome their specific challenges.

Stakeholder Group	Contribute to Bridge	Obtain from Bridge
Design Studios:	•Technical/Branding Expertise •Innovation •How to take scale an idea	•Good problems to solve (portfolio enrichment) •Avoid 1st Iteration Research •Learn from other ventures •Join efforts with other actors
Local NGOs and Grassroot Groups	•Initiative & Energy to launch projects •Past experiences & networking opportunities •Trust from local community	•Betterment of the served community •Do’s & Don’t
Local Entrepreneurs	•Initiative & Energy to launch projects •Personal experiences & networking opportunities •Trust from local community	•Specific support that meets specific needs •Experiences from others (Do’s & Don’ts)
Local Governments	•Personal experiences & networking opportunities •Trust from local community	•Human resources and support to launch new projects. •Low cost solutions that meet the need of the community.
Emerging Market Seekers/Entrepreneurs	•Capital to launch projects & ideas •Start-up experience	•New and unreachable before markets •Research to redefine their own projects •Facilitates the  Beta Testing & Market Research •Possible Partnership opportunities
Philanthropists	•Capital to launch projects & ideas	•Better and more traceable use of their money •Understand the “real” need
International Organizations	•Infrastructural & Communication Support •Networking Support •Financial/Technical Expertise	•Infrastructural & Communication Support •Networking Support •Financial/Technical Expertise
Social Venture Capital Foundations	•Financial/Technical Expertise •1st class viability analysis of project	•Research efforts savings •Join ventures •People that fill in the gap between communities and “donors”

Research

During the research stage of the Design Thinking Process we confirmed the impact of the identified issue. We gathered examples and stories from individuals and organizations involved in international community and economic development.

Additionally, we gathered information on websites with similar features and explored new ways to improve them. Below is a list of sites used to develop our innovative interpretation:

http://www.thegiin.org/cgi-bin/iowa/home/index.html

http://www.growmovement.org/

www.engineeringforchange.org

http://www.onebillionminds.com/

We also carried out online interviews and online questionnaires for each of the stakeholder groups defined above. Our aim was to collect as much data as possible from our potential end-users so that they would have a direct influence on our product.

Research Findings:

Social Venture Capital Foundations

• In a skype interview, the head of investments for a social venture capital fund in Haiti described their investment criteria used to support and fund projects. Their investments are limited to projects that create access to critical goods & services such as water, agriculture, health, energy, housing and education.

• Investment Criteria:

  • Strong leadership & ethical background of the entrepreneur

  • Committed to serving the poor

  • Realistic business plan to become financially sustainable

  • Reasonable expectations of the investment

  • Understanding of how to scale the business

• When we described the idea, we were told that our goal is very ambitious and from their perspective an urgent and necessary tool in the field of international development. We were directed to explore existing initiatives ensure we were not “reinventing the wheel”.

• This interview informed our understanding of the types of information that foundations would be interested in. With this in mind, we researched the tools and information available to entities interested in gaining support and partnership with foundations.

Local Governments-City Mayor of Sereysophoan, Cambodia.

Through a skype interview and online questionnaire, our group learned about the challenges impacting a government official in Cambodia.

Here are some of the questions used to facilitate discussion:

1. What are some of the challenges you face when trying to implement an initiative that aims to help those living under poverty?

2. What would you need to implement solutions in your community?

3. What do you think are the factors for the success of a project?

4. As someone with political power in your community, what do you lack in order to improve people’s lives?

5. What methods do you use to find supporters?

6. What criteria do you use to select projects/initiatives in your community?

From the mayor’s feedback we learned that balancing the workload of the domestic politics  with implementing projects for the citizens is a real struggle. The work inside the party keeps her very busy that doing projects for the poor seems an unattainable goal. According to her, the main challenge is to find motivated people who can push projects forward, write proposals, and monitored progress. She explained that local governments need low-cost technologies specially designed for farmers to meet their needs and make a living. She also described that a deep understanding of the community needs and a trusting relationship is the main factor for success.

Local Entrepreneurs

Through online questionnaires we gathered information from two entrepreneurs. One from India and the other from Cameroon. These are the questions we asked:

1. Could you tell me about the last time you innovated or how you became an entrepreneur?

2. What is the largest barrier you came across when implementing a solution?

3. What is the main challenge for innovation to happen in developing countries?

4. How do you find supporters?

5. How do you think more innovation could occur in rural areas of developing countries?

6. How much time/resources do you spend looking for support?

The entrepreneurs started as entrepreneurs relatively early (18-20 years old).  They are all working on projects that meet the needs of people in their communities. The main barrier they both specifically described was the challenge of finding like-minded people interested in forming a strong team with socially focused vision. Similarly, they both required support from specialists knowledgeable in areas where less experienced. None of them expressed that motivation or lack of ideas was ever a problem. When asked, how do they look for support, they described that they routinely search in social networking sites, attend events. From these activities they identify potential partners and personally share their ideas and show their work. In general, they explained that they struggle finding opportunities to express their potential and share their ideas on a larger scale.

International Organizations- World Bank Institute Consultant, Washington, D.C.

Through skype interview and questionnaire, the consultant described the efforts from the World Bank to create a more efficient South-South knowledge exchange.

1. What criteria does your organization use to fund a project? Can/Should this be uniform for other organizations to follow?

2. Does your organization struggle to find community leaders on the ground with innovative ideas to tackle extreme poverty? Does someone from your organization have any contact with them and if so how do you find them?

3. What barriers are there in working with community leaders?

4. How does your organization collaborate with other large or small organizations working in the same area/goal?

5. How does your organization measure impact – and what is the timeline for results?

The World Bank Institute in the World Bank is focusing on 3 areas of support to community engagers in developing countries:

• Open Knowledge: Connecting engagers to global knowledge to learn how to implement reform

• Collaborative Governance: Helping to mobilize for collective action

• Innovative Solutions: Scanning and incubating innovations to tackle key development challenges

Some of the principles and criteria  the organization uses to fund projects:

• Participation of staff with decision making authority

• Clear development goal that will be furthered with a Knowledge Exchange

• Clear demand from country/region

He also explained that due to their focus on developing country governments, finding community leaders to partner is beyond their mandate. However, in his opinion a tool to tap into innovative programs from local communities and transfer that knowledge to government organizations would be a great service to engage multiple levels of implementation.

Currently they are on the lookout for government organizations that are “champions in their field” and wish to share their innovative approaches and best practices with others. This selection is currently based on tips/recommendations from experts within the bank.  He also explained that institutional arrangements, stakeholder interests and plain bureaucracy are significant impediments to connect with leaders on the ground. Therefore, most of the South-South Knowledge Exchange agenda has developed around government bodies and large international organizations, usually as part of high-level decisions to move the knowledge agenda forward and leverage the role of knowledge in a changing the development landscape.

Finally, the interviewee described that one of the greatest challenges of knowledge exchanges is proving causal attribution. While the impact of knowledge is undeniable, “measuring” it is a tricky proposition at best and proving whether an exchange led to direct and immediate changes in development outcomes is equally complicated. For these reasons, the timeline for results are generally very long.

A timely article

Our group is working with the Hill District Consensus Group to help incorporate community feedback into what happens with vacant properties and land, so this NYT article is extremely timely for us –

 

Photos from Participatory Design Research

These are photos from two of our research activities.  We made posters with open ended statements, with the idea that high school students will fill in the statements with their own thoughts.  We hung these at Andrew Street High School and Braddock Hills high school, and we’ll retrieve them in a week or so.  We anticipate a variety of responses that should help inform our understanding of how high schoolers think about life after high school and how they’ll figure out their future job.

We’re also using a journey mapping activity to engage adults in a conversation about how they landed and settled into their current career.  With a blank board and a set of descriptive stickers to illustrate milestones and influences, we ask directed questions to gain an understanding of how the person got to where they’re at.  We anticipate that these various stories will help demonstrate the difference between where they thought they would end up and where they actually did, and how their career plan changed along the way.

“Beautiful Places make Beautiful Kids”

Blog Submission Design and Policy Course

By: Ana Vazquez-Trejo

 

I heard this quote as I was sitting in Heinz college during a presentation by Bill Strickland,^[1] an influential community leader that happens to have his own Wikipedia page. I sat and wondered is this true? I continued to listen as he talked about the school he built for inner city kids in Pittsburgh. He mentioned that the school he built has not had an incident with kids causing trouble like the school down the street. He displayed some beautiful pictures of the entrance of the school with a fountain, that reminded me of the entrance of a corporation in downtown Houston.

If I think about the places I have studied and worked, I think Bill might actually be true, “Beautiful Places make Beautiful ‘People.’”I think Bill meant “beautiful places” are comfortable, sophisticated, clean, and state of the art facilities. I think that Bill meant “Beautiful Kids” were productive, prudent, conscientious, hard-working people. If you think about institutions like Carnegie Mellon, it has state of the art facilities and the most modern technology access for its students.  According to the CMU fact sheet, “In the past 15 years, CMU faculty, students and alumni have created more than 300 companies and 9,000 jobs.^[2]” CMU is a good example of “Beautiful Places make Beautiful Kids.” However, CMU is such a small community, why can’t others have access to state of the art facilities and learn how to use life- changing technologies? In addition, how do workplaces, study places, or environment influence a person’s creativity?

According to the Houston Chronicle, motivation plays a large role in productivity.^[3] Even more in the Journal of Business, Economics, & Finance, “The quality of environment in workplace may simply determine the level of employee’s motivation, subsequent performance and productivity.^[4]” So as Americans, why are we surprised that the national High School graduation rate is 78.2%.^[5] What about that other 21.8% of students?  How can we regain these High School dropouts? Why did they not graduate? Why can’t we have a 100% graduation rate to complete the most fundamental level of education? I have a theory that it is based on school environment, facilities, and access to technology.

According the national center for education and statistics, “In 1998, the average public school building in the United States was 42 years old.”^[6]  If our kids do not have access to good infrastructure as simple as the classroom they attend, why would they care?

I think that it is a variety of things that influence a single person’s ability to complete different levels of education. One of those things is environment. Placing a person in a healthy, “beautiful,” encouraging environment helps increase a person’s ability to achieve more education. So how can we design a policy that will help America’s kids?

---

^[1] http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/events/event-detail/index.aspx?eid=3059

^[2] http://www.cmu.edu/about/cmufactsheet.pdf

^[3] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/motivation-productivity-workplace-10692.html

^[4] http://www.jbef.org/archive/pdf/volume1/4-demet%20leblebici.pdf

^[5] http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/infographics/graduation-rates-stats-infographic.html

^[6] http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/1999048/

Project Update 11/12/13

Since our interview at Charles Morris and our numerous class discussions, our group has decided to focus on the topic of nursing home layout. Nursing home layout is important as it relates to several health and wellness factors that we previously mentioned. For instance, layout relates to dignity because the distance of the nursing station from a resident’s room and the response rate to a bathroom bell area all correlated. Other health issues such as response times to slips and falls or responses times during emergencies are effected by layout. Additionally, physical layout can determine community as it relates to the routes people take and how far their willing to go for activities.

Another concern with layouts is that they do not fit the needs of future generations. For instance, many nursing homes don’t have gyms or pools, yet younger residents are requesting these types of facilities. Including improved recreational facilities that reflect modern lifestyles is important, as many nursing homes are switching from an institution-like set up to prioritizing individual care.

To assess layouts our group is creating kits and questions for individuals to create their ideal layout. The goal is to then identify key layout needs and parameters and possibly create model layouts. We hope to use these kits to return to Charles Morris and receive feedback from other administrators, nurses, and residents. Additionally, we have contacted Fair Winds Manor in Sarver, PA and hope to schedule a visit/interview/kit session with administrators there. We will also be using these kits with individuals: students, professors, middle age-older adults, to get independent feedback and input into the layout of the future. One group we are specifically targeting is the Osher Institute/Lifelong Learners who attend CMU for classes. These individuals are continuing their education later in life.

While kit exercises are going on, we are gathering floor plans and layouts of other local homes. By doing this, we hope to compare the layouts and determine if all of the homes suffer from the same issues of long hallways and decentralized community/event areas.

We would love to hear feedback from the rest of the class regarding other design methods to employ as we move forward.

By Emily Sale

Prison Garden Dream Board- Qianwen, Lowell, Tim

During class on Thursday, we developed a dream board/map of what our ideal prisons would look like based on the various types of gardens we could implement. Each “prison” depicted below shows our future vision for how the garden could be utilized and the way it would cause the prison to operate. This was a fun exercise that allowed us to be completely free and even outlandish in our visions for our project. Imagining the future for the prison garden will help us funnel our scope but still push the envelop of what’s been done before.

 

We also started addressing specific deliverables that will be apart of our project. We have established that our project is the designing of a service/experience so we wanted to come up with a wide range of deliverables that would be utilized within the garden service. We would definitely do more research and narrow this list for the final project but it was helpful just writing whatever came to mind. We also began the rather daunting task of coming up with a name. Garden and plant related terms were the focus but we are totally open to anything. It’s much harder to come up with a name for our project than we thought….

 

 

Hill District Neighborhood Group Update

Since our presentation we have continued our quest to find and articulate a real community need that we can help address through our project work.

Planning our neighborhood contact approach
We drafted and re-drafted introductory emails to Hill District orgs, trying to be mindful of the impression we want to give about our project and approach as being collaborative and mindful, while trying to increase the chance of a response

We also met to develop as a group the questions that we would pose to our community contacts, and worked through how we might best conduct the conversation to gain the insights we were seeking.

Interview with Hill House
We conducted a interview via conference call with Teri Baltimore from Hill House. She confirmed that the neighborhood sees growth and greater interactions with non-residents as inevitable, and that it can be positive IF well managed. We also gained a visceral understanding for the HD’s concerns about being taken advantage of of and being hit and run by outside groups and individuals, something that we anticipated could be a contentious issue when working with a local neighborhood, but still failed to successfully preempt with our approach.

Visit to the Hill District & HDCG Meeting
On Friday, we attended the Hill District Consensus Group monthly meeting.

At the meeting many organizations shared updates and provided information about opportunities available to residents, and residents were able to ask questions or share concerns. The group aims to ensure that neighborhood residents are heard and as a group they are trying to fight back against it being taken advantage in development plans, or left out of positive opportunities.

After the event we spoke with attendees and stakeholders about the HD, and the HDCG and also inquired as to where our talents and time could best be put to use in service the HD community. Carl Redwood, co-director of the group, suggested that with our project timeline and design/policy focus, it may be a good fit to assist with one of the new organizing committees that were being formed to work on specific issues that the HDCG has identified.

Upcoming
HD visit and meeting, Tuesday November 12th
Tuesday morning (including during class-time) we will be visiting the Hill District again. We will do a bit more hanging out than we had the opportunity to do on Friday, and will also be meeting with Justin, a community organizer from HDCG to discuss the organizing committees further. We also invited other HD residents we spoke to join us for lunch at Patrix – a cafe within the Hill House complex.

HD past and present tour alongside reps from Public Allies – Saturday, November 16th
We will be joining a neighborhood tour for a group from Public Allies on Saturday morning. The tour is something that Terri from Hill House started after shadowing a CMU architecture group visiting the area. She was aghast to see the negative opinions students had of the neighborhood without having any familiarity with it. So she takes outside groups and students on tours to learn more about the past and present of the Hill District. The tour will not only give us a greater understanding of the neighborhood but will also allow us to see how they present themselves to other outside groups, and what impressions these visitors have before and after the tour.

Student Career Choice: Primary Research from the Week of 11/4

Last week, our team made visits to Andrews High School and the Neighborhood Learning Alliance. We also asked our professor Tim Zak to test our “career journey mapping” tool to help us understand the key factors that have helped others make career decisions.

1. Andrews High School Visit

Read the Interview Notes from our visit

See the following tools that counselor Juli uses to help high school students:

• College Timeline
• College Essay Tips
• Interview Questions
• Student Profile

We got a tour of Andrews High School. It is a Propel School and provides a high school setting that feels intimate (due to small size) and supportive.

We interviewed Juli (counselor at Andrews HS) as well as Marlynn (counselor at Braddock HS)

We asked the counselors to complete our card sorting activities together and talk about their reasoning as they sorted.

Above is an image of the card sorting result for how Juli and Marlynn ranked the value of different career support methods.

Above is an image of the card sorting result for how Juli and Marlynn ranked the value of different factors that they believe should influence career decisions.

Robyn created probes that Juli and Marlynn agreed to hang up at Andrews and Braddock HS so that students can input their responses.

2. Neighborhood Learning Alliance

Read the Interview Notes from our visit

We interviewed Steve Maclsaac, who helps to run Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood Learning Alliance. He also introduced us to two high school juniors (Aaron and Denise), who we were able to interview during our visit.

Together, we asked Aaron and Denise to show us what career support they would find most helpful and above is the result.

Above is how they felt about different factors that they should consider when choosing a career.

3. Career Mapping with Tim Zak

We tested our career journey mapping tool in class with professor Tim Zak. 

Prison Garden Exercises- Qianwen, Lowell, Tim

After an extremely enlightening conversation with Debbie Rutt from Portland State University, we began trying to focus the scope of our project. We began by identifying all of the stakeholders related to the prison garden system and listing the benefits and potential negative points for each. This exercise helped us to assess where there was overlap; for instance, having a garden improves the visual appeal of the prison which affects prisoners, corrections officers, prison administration, family members of the prisoners, and more. It was also important to identify wins and losses. While the pros outweigh the cons for the corrections officers, having a garden would be extra work for them and there is the concern of having prisoners use tools. It will be key for us to keep some of these in mind while also determining a project that maintains all of the wonderful benefits.

After that, we came up with 5 potential garden types; a garden for skill building and vocational training, one for healthy food production, one for inmates and their families, one for conservation and restoration, and one for beautification. Our conversation with Debbie helped steer us into identifying these options and unpacking their unique qualities and benefits. A garden that focuses on food production could give prisoners healthy meals and could provide food for the Pittsburgh Food Pantry while a conservation/restoration garden could educate prisoners about horticulture while also protecting and growing local endangered species.

Existing and Proposed Policy Related to a Prison Garden Program

There are several policies that already exist that are relevant to a prison garden program. Although these policies don’t specifically address prison garden programs, we can build on the existing policy to be more relevant to garden programs.

• The Federal Bureau Of Prison, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, has issued several policies regarding prison-based production and services, as well as correlated policies about inmate employment, pricing procedure, design control, development, quality and revenue recognition. The Federal Prison Industries are regulated by federal laws and policies. Although there are no specific policies directly addressing prison gardening programs, we can build on the policies on prison production that already exist, and propose related policies to government and legislation.

  The initial funding for prison gardens could come from governments or organizations that are willing to sponsor gardens. If the prisoners produce good agricultural products to supply their prison kitchen or outside organizations in need of fresh produce, and if the gardens help inmates develop skills, integrate into communities, and prevent recidivism, we can propose a policy that encourages more prisons to implement such prison gardening programs.

• In 2011, the Insight Garden Program (IGP), which provides vocational gardening and life skills to prisoners at San Quentin prison in California, conducted a recidivism study of 117 men who had paroled between 2003-2009, and found out that less than 10% returned to incarceration within a 3-year timeframe, compared to California’s 70% recidivism rate. Many other prison gardening and farming programs have found that these type of programs could significantly help prevent recidivism of ex-prisoners. The recidivism rate of Pennsylvania during 2000 to 2008 was 63% within the first three years of release, which leads to budgetary challenges and overcrowding of prisons. Although there are no special policies on recidivism prevention implemented today, the multiply reentry programs and skills development programs being adopted have demonstrated their effectiveness, and policies could be introduced to enhance the application of such programs. Potential policies could involve the regulation of such programs, government incentives or tax credits towards organizations that implement rehabilitative and skills development programs, and the community support of such programs.

• One of the most serious problems that prisoners face is the difficulty of finding a job post-release both due to their criminal history and the lack of necessary skills. Although federal and state governments provide ex-convicts equal rights regarding employment in the free market (except for some prohibitive occupations and industries) actual job placement for prisoners is fairly poor. Studies show that unemployed ex-offenders are three times more likely to recidivate than employed offenders. In 2012 the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decision that help lower the barriers that prevent ex-offenders from getting jobs; the U.S. Department of Labor sponsored several programs to help ex-offenders post release; the Department of Labor also has the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a federal tax credit offered to employers who hire ex-offenders; Philadelphia Mayor’s Office has a Reintegration Services for Ex-offenders (RISE) program that utilizes direct service and partnerships with other agencies to successfully reintegrate the formerly incarcerated back into their communities. A prison gardening program would provide prisoners with agricultural and other skills, which could later be advantages that help ex-offenders find employment. The policies and government programs are already in place to support prisoners’ reentry into society. What this garden program would do is help prepare those prisoners to develop the skills they need post-release.

Photos from our Charles Morris Visit

Charles Morris Mission Statement

Outside of the entrance

Another view of the building

A sitting area inside Charles Morris. The structure in the center holds live birds for visitors, residents, and staff to enjoy

Outdoor areas & the gazebo that the Eagle Scout made

Calendars were posted around the facility to show residents what’s going on every day. These help them keep in touch with the community.

These charts are posted results of bell response time. The response rate is based on how long it takes for caretakers to respond when a resident has to use the restroom. This shows the facility’s commitment to dignity.

One of the rehab rooms in the facility. Sharyn mentioned that therapy builds a great sense of community amongst residents as they cheer each other on.

An Interview and Visit to Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Yesterday our group ventured over to Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which is part of the Jewish Association on Aging. This home was chosen to be our urban comparison to rural homes. However, we interviewed them first because they were the quickest to respond. At the home we met with Sharyn Rubin, Director of Resident and Community Services. Sharyn was our main source of information and shared her thoughts on community, dignity, family, etc.

Community

Sharyn believes that community amongst residents depends on if they long-term or short-term Charles Morris residents. Long term residents understand the fact that they have to be there and are engaged in daily life in the home. Short term residents are very “I” centered, working hard in rehab, and hoping to move out soon. Sharyn said that living in a care facility is an adjustment. “It is like a kid’s first day of kindergarten, they say they have no friends and don’t know anyone. It takes a while for that kid to run from mom to school when being dropped off”. So Sharyn usually tells family members to give their loved ones time and they’ll come around.

When asked about social cliques, Sharyn said that bullying in facilities is usually a big issue. However, she doesn’t see that happen here. Nor does she see cliques forming. Occasionally roommates don’t get along and efforts are made to fix that quickly. Considering that Charles Morris is affiliated with the Jewish community, we asked if religion was a diving factor in the community (as the facility is open to anyone). Sharyn said that is not an issue and in fact, religion is a source for community building. For instance, on holidays, the religious aspects are played out to the fullest. This could be anything from having services to kosher meals. Sharyn said that those who don’t keep kosher or attend service aren’t offended, they just don’t opt in. And those who do follow these beliefs are happy. This is the easiest way to please the community at large. Additionally, I should note that other holidays outside of Judaism are acknowledged.

When looking into the community between staff and administrators and patients, this too thrives. There is a “Guardian Angel” program, where staff adopt a new resident and visit with them on their first few days in Charles Morris. They take residents to the kitchen or social spaces to help them get acclimated to their new surroundings. Additionally, Sharyn noted that sometimes programs aren’t needed and these things come naturally. For instance, the housekeepers have a very close relationship with residents. Often times, they will fix a residents hair or buy them gifts and other necessary items.

Sharyn also noted the outside community as extremely influential within the home. Charles Morris has a strong volunteer base and many volunteers “adopt” patients. Additionally, Sharyn pointed out the various donations from the community, which make Charles Morris a nicer place to live. For example, an Eagle Scout built a gazebo outside of the center, which Sharyn claims “we live in that gazebo during summer months”. Another community member donated a jukebox and while in the craft room, we saw bags of donated scarves.

Sharyn also noted that the Pittsburgh community in general is a huge advantage to Charles Morris. Through the community, Charles Morris is able to work in coalition with other homes in a program called “Agewell PGH”. This service provides a call line for people across the country to talk to a central person regarding the needs of their elderly loved ones. Additionally, having the universities and their researchers was cited as a major advantage. By working with them, Charles Morris was able to implement a study on medication use in the elderly. The study showed overuse and drug reactions amongst elderly people who live independently (outside of facilities). This question showed that Charles Morris felt that belonging to the Pittsburgh community was truly and advantage. This makes me wonder how the other homes we hope to interview feel about being rural.

Finally, community is found by residents taking up individual roles in Charles Morris. One man on a motorized wheelchair meets with Sharyn every day at 1:00pm to distribute the mail. Other women work in the gift shop. Sharyn says that often setting  up this type of participation is more work, however it gives people a purpose.

Dignity

According to Sharyn, dignity is a huge issue in the home. She said employees of Charles Morris are trained to provide dignity to residents in everything they do and to realize that Charles Morris is these people’s home.

A major issue surrounding dignity is the problem of people soiling themselves. In care facilities, only certain workers are trained and legally allowed to assist residents to the rest room. Hence, when a bell is rung, meaning that a resident needs assistance, a specific person must answer this call. Sharyn admits that sometimes with an emergency happening in another room or other extenuating circumstances, residents have soiled themselves. Sharyn shared a story with us about a man who called her and left her a voice-mail saying that since nobody came quick enough, “he was forced to soil himself”. Even talking to us, you could see Sharyn’s guilt and how upset she was about this. However, she stated, we are constantly overstaffed with trained people and sometimes these things still happen.

Finally, Sharyn mentioned that dignity is built into some of the amenities the facility offers. For instance there is a manicurist and a beauty parlor. While showing us the beauty parlor, Sharyn said “(The beautician) is more effective than the Doctors”. “People will come out of the hospital without washing their hair or showering and she makes them look and feel like new”. Additionally, Sharyn stated that the beautician really cares about the residents and gives them a great source of interaction. Sharyn also mentioned that building dignity into the facility is continuing in the form of meal service. Right now, meals are served at a set time and if a resident is asleep or busy, their meal may be lukewarm or of a lesser quality than those that were served on time. She states that this often leads to an invasion of a resident’s privacy and lifestyle as they are woken up earlier than they prefer for meals, etc. However, Charles Morris recently received a grant to build a resident centered food facility that functions similar to a restaurant. When it is opened next year, residents can pick what they want off a menu and it will be made for them fresh. This will be available for all meals each day.

Family

When asked about family visiting their loved ones in the facility, Sharyn said “It depends”. She stated that a family can live down the street from the facility and not come in to see their loved ones because it hurts too much or perhaps they were never that close in the first place. However, she cited one man who came in monthly to see his mother even though he lived in Miami, Florida. Sharyn said he came even more frequently during the end of his mother’s life. As we were given a tour around the facility, Sharyn pointed out a cot that she hadn’t put away yet, from a family member staying the night with their loved one.

Physical Space

Sharyn pointed out several issues in the physical space of the Charles Morris facility that she thought could be improved. This was something our group had never really considered, but after hearing her talk, I believe this is a great aspect that our deliverable could be based on. First Sharyn pointed out the long hallways throughout the building. She also mentioned that the activities rooms are spread out and not central to the building. Additionally, the nursing unit is not in the middle of each floor. She also stated several things that would need to change in the future. There is an increasing interest in a pool and a gym, something Sharyn believes is a shift in interests between generations. Also, she would like to see kitchens in each unit. Finally, she stated general lifestyle thoughts, such as the fact that married couples cannot live together because roommates are chosen on the same-sex basis.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed Sharyn’s thoughts on physical spaces and I was surprised that this is something our group didn’t consider before. I personally, would love to move forward with research and a deliverable in this area because I think it relates to all our other concerns within care facilities. For example, if we re-designed the layout of one unit and put the nursing center in the middle, dignity issues could be solved as there would be a faster response rate to bathroom calls. Other health issues could be easily addressed as well. Furthermore, the community could be strengthened if social areas were put in the center of the layout and if the commute to these areas was shortened with smaller hallways or a more open floor-plan.

 

Emily Sale