Cassandra Porter

Psychology 1100 Field Activity Option #5 (50 Points)

Attach the nursing home handouts, brochures, etc.
Detail the monthly costs.

Name of the Costs per day, services:

Facility:
Pinnacle
Nursing
and
Rehabilitation
Center

Parkdale
Health
and Rehab

Pinnacle Nursing would cost $140 per

day for a very independent adult. This
price includes speech and occupational
therapy as well as Dietary,
Recreational needs. Dietary refers to a
5x meal plan per day. In house
occupational physical therapists are
available to the participants. They have
24/7 nursing care, respiratory therapy
services. One important aspect of
Pinnacle is that they have a sealed
dementia/Alzheimers unit. This is a
must need, sometimes when a loved
one has one of those disorders they can
hurt themselves by trying to leave. For
an added fee they have pain
management, cardiac and stroke rehab
as well as respite and hospice services.
Cable TV and internet service. They do
have a single room available for
another fee per day, if you do not want
a roommate
Parkdale Nursing would cost $160 per
day for a very independent adult.
Parkdale specifically mentions that it
has palliative care for patients, that the
workers would be kind and patient..
They also offer IV therapy, hospice,
pain management. In addition Parkdale

What the price does

not include:
This does not include
doctor visits and
special needs for
physical therapy
outside of the norm.
On top of the
staggering prices of
all rehabilitation
centers, this could be
a much more
expensive than one
might realize. A
personal room is not
included with the
price. That means
they have to share a
room that is not very
spacious.
Medicine is not
included, time with
the doctor is not
included. Therapists
are available for an
additional fee. A

Beehive
Homes

offers an Oxygen therapy program and

Lymphedema, Trach care program. For
an added fee rehabilitative services are
offered, including: Physical therapy,
Speech therapy, Post Surgical Rehab,
occupational therapy, and a restorative
nursing program. They also have a
Salon, a gym and a living room as an
amenity. For medical transit they offer
a shuttle service, for appointments.
They do have a single room available
for another fee per day, if you do not
want a roommate. Cable TV and
internet service. Currently Parkdale is
ranked #5 in Utah for quality and in the
top 15% of nursing homes in the USA
surveyed by Pinnacle Quality Insight
for 2013, 2014, 2015.
Beehive Nursing would cost $150 per
day for a very independent adult. This
price includes: Home cooked meals 3x
daily. Assistance with activities for
daily living, with specific emphasis to
state regulations. Daily housekeeping
services, Laundry Services, Medication
monitoring and charting. Included with
the price is a single room for each
participant, including furnishings, or
bath and an emergency call system.

personal room is not

included with the
price. That means
they have to share a
room that is not very
spacious.

Cost does not include

medications or the
doctor or physical
therapists. They do
not even have an in
house physical
therapist. I have also
seen on calls with the
police in the past
many residents will
escape, they do not
have a secured unit.

How would these costs be paid for? Who would be paying?

Medicare at most will only cover 100 days of a nursing home per year, (unless this person is a
ward of the state.) Only 100 days at max at any of these locations would be paid for by a
common insurance. Not many insurance companies will cover these costs. Medicare will also not
pay for all medications there are also many types of this insurance and enrollment in the wrong
one could be a horrible costly mistake. This means whoever brought this person to enroll in the
establishment would be responsible to make up the difference from what the insurance company
will pay. My grandma was released for instance from Parkdale after only 60 days of care,
because Medicare would not cover any more cost for the care of a loved one. Another limitation
is that they can only be admitted with the support of Medicare if they were hospitalized for a
single 72 period.

Describe to me what you saw in the nursing home. Would you be

comfortable putting your loved one there full time? Why or why not?
Parkdale: The staff were nice, as always, but they have really small rooms for people. They share

the room with a roommate and there is not much more than 4 feet away from each bed, only
separated by a curtain. The bed is usually against the wall with 4-5 feet from the other bed. There
does not seem to be much privacy, people are also very sick here, nearly dying in the hallway
from chronic illness. This is not the fault of anyone merely an observation that it is a very sad
place to live. Great staff though!

Pinnacle: The staff were nice, as always, but they have really small rooms for people. They share

the room with a roommate and there is not much more than 4 feet away from each bed, only
separated by a curtain.
Beehive: They do not even have an in house physical therapist. I have also seen on calls with the

police in the past many residents will escape, they do not have a secured unit. The staff were
nice, as always, but they did not have a great setup for people with memory issues. If they did
not have memory issues they would probably still live in their homes. The one really positive
thing about Beehive is that they have single rooms for no more than 16 residents.

After doing your research, what will you recommend to other family members who need information
to make an informed decision about nursing home care and costs? Honestly I would not recommend
any of these homes, perhaps not any, of course unless you are independently wealthy and $4000$6000 is not much money to you. A very important point must be made, if you are exploring this
option clearly your loved one needs more care than they can physically give themselves. A better
option is to check on their quality of live, hire a dietician yourself and make sure their meals are
provided as many as they want. Get a home nurse, this is pricy but usually insurance will cover a few
days a year. If your loved one or their spouse was a veteran the veterans will help you pay for the
cost of the nurse. The nurse will also not need to be there all the time. They could assist with meds or
you can, then more important things can be done, such as bathing. It only costs about $10k to get a
house lift that includes the bathtub with jets. This can ensure they are clean and safe when they bath.
I think this is a better way of doing things, it also does not waste their hard earned nest egg. After all
a CNA makes only 8-9 per hour, this can be a great thing for them and your loved one. It also does
not need to be over $4000 per month. You can also arrange to have them visit the homes for $50 per

day and that includes a senior shuttle, comforts of home, yet it does not make them bankrupt, because
you did not have the courage to assist your elder on your own. (They also dont need to live and
survive in an area no bigger than a jail cell.)

Psychology 1100 Field Activity

This activity is OPTIONAL. If you complete it in a meaningful and thorough manner, 15
points will be added to your lowest test score/s.
Interview the oldest person you know; preferably someone over age 65. A face-to-face interview is
best, but if this is not possible, phone, skype, or email interviews are also acceptable. Ask the person
the following questions and get as many details as possible.
I interviewed Kenneth Porter
1. What is the age and gender of the person? How do you know him or her?
Kenneth is a male and is in his early 90s, I know him through my husbands family.
2. As you look back on your life, what are you most proud of? Kenneth said he was most proud of his
service in the Air Force during the Second World War. In 1941 he joined up with his brothers after
the Pearl Harbor attack. I flew on many bombing missions through Africa, Europe and Italy, I was
very proud of my service in the Bulge. I was very scared back then as a tail gunner in the B-17
bomber, I was over six feet tall trying to fit in a space not bigger than a dog kennel. Nearly every
major mission our bomber was filled with 100s of bullet holes, the amount of close calls I had every
day is amazing.
3. As you look ahead in the years to come, what are you most afraid of? That I will outlive my cat
and sheep herd, he said jokingly. He then added that he lived a happy life, and knows his family is

taken care of. Sometimes I am back there a 16 year old trapped getting shot at, I guess I am always
afraid when I remember the past.
4. Do you have any health challenges? If so, describe what they are and how they affect your ability
to do daily life activities. I have a lot of issues, many I have help with. My biggest struggle is my
PTSD, I worry about my heart at this age.
5. Do you have any thinking/memory problems or other types of challenges? If so, describe what
they are and how they affect your ability to do daily life activities. Im getting older every day like
that Bob Dole, but I cant seem to remember if I do have memory problems.
6. Describe your current level of involvement in your community. What specific things do you
participate in and how much time do you spend doing these activities? I cant go out much anymore,
I just feed my cats and enjoy my life
7. How often do you exercise and what types of exercise do you do? I cant really get too active, I
guess age is catching up with me. I do walk every now and then.
8. What is the most profound advice you would like young adults to listen to in the world as it is
today? Get as much education as you can.
9. If you could change anything in your past, what would it be?
I would not change anything/
10. Ask three questions of your choosing. Make sure you include the questions and answers in your
response.
Can you tell me a story about the war?
One mission we flew landed our bomber with only 1 engine and 1 misfiring engine. (1/2) We were
miles away from the base losing altitude, we were able to dodge our attackers and land, but about 10
minutes later our plane blew up.
What was a major struggle back then?

One of my biggest struggles back then was getting out of the tail gun, some missions were so long I
couldnt use my legs for a few hours. After being in a cage for 17+ hours, I could no longer stand.
Do you have a funny story from the war?
One night it was so cold none of us could get warm, we didnt have a fire and no hot drinks. I
hatched a plan with my fellows to get warm. The officers tent was warm, I determined that we
would not get warm without any help. (Now dont judge me it was really cold and stressful back
then!) I got with the guys and while the officers were out, we snuck into their tent and borrowed
their stove and brought it to our tent. This was a big deal, they were very displeased, but we all had a
laugh and got warm. We did not get into any trouble, perhaps our jobs were bad enough.
Do you have another funny story?
If you noticed I was underage during most of WWII, I was able to stay because the Air Force helped
me get my high school diploma before I saw any combat.