Summary
The guest speaker’s name is Jenifer Almodovar, and she works at the Palace Garden Assisted Living facility. Her job title is Director of Activities, and she mainly engages in work with older adults who have cognitive problems. Jenifer decided to work in an assisted living facility because she has had experience working with geriatric patients, and because of her background when growing up, she lived with her grandparents.
The population served by this facility is people who require help with ADLs, individuals with dementia and other cognitive issues, schizophrenia, and related memory issues. The job responsibilities include managing activities at the memory care unit. Since the patients have different diagnoses and varied cognitive levels, the RT adjusts the activities for each patient. The RT also states that the facility consistently has a variety of activities for the patients. The APEID process is standard and involves an assessment of the patients, their current health state and needs, and the development of the care plan tailored to these particular patients. Since each individual a the facility has varied health needs and cognitive levels; the RT has to adjust the activities they choose to these metrics.
Other facilities that offer geriatric care include Sterling Court Assisted Living. This institution is for patients that require daily care and offers recreational activities as well as traveling activities and other options and routines (“Home,” n.d.). The difference between this facility and the one discussed by the RT in the interview is that Sterling is not tailored to the special needs of patients with cognitive impairment and is designed to suit the needs of individuals who struggle to keep up with their day-to-day activities. Another similar facility is Adult Day Services (“Adult day,” n.d.). This program is designed for older patients who begin to struggle with caring for themselves on a daily basis. However, unlike the other facilities, Adult Day Services does not provide assisted living, and instead, this program teaches these adults how to maintain their ability to care for themselves.
Reflection
This week, I have learned about geriatric care and assisted living facilities from the RT interview and related resources. The main takeaway for me is that geriatric care requires a lot of expertise since the RT has to consistently adjust the activities for the patients. Moreover, as the RT from the video mentioned, conditions that are typical for a geriatric care facility are complex and manifest differently. For instance, schizophrenia is an umbrella term, which means that patients will have various symptoms and manifestations of this condition.
I think that personally, I would be fit for the work in a geriatric care facility; however, my interest and skills would make me more suitable for other types of care centers. Due to the fact that I am interested in sports and outdoor activities, I think that geriatric care would not be suitable for my interests. However, through this assignment and interview, I found out that geriatric care can differ, and for example, an RT can work at a facility that teaches older adults to care for themselves instead of providing full assisted living services. Personally, I think that such work would be more suitable for my interests and tastes and would allow me to employ my best skills and personality traits. In summary, this assignment helped me learn about an RT’s role in geriatric care.
References
Adult day. (n.d.). Web.
Home. (n.d.). Web.