ears more like a hospital than a nursing home. Most staff is dressed in white uniforms. The entrance is a large open hallway leading to the nursing station. The walls are a dirty, pale peach color and there is an unpleasant odor. To the left of the entrance, there is a large ôtelevisionö room. In this area, there are rows of residents sitting in wheelchairs facing a television mounted on the wall. A few residents are seated at small tables on the window side of the room playing cards or reading magazines. There were also a few staff sitting in the room.
Mrs. Doe had finished her lunch and was already in the room. It was cheerless and empty except for two narrow hospital beds against one wall. Closets and drawers were built into the opposite wall. Mrs. Doe was dressed in a clean housedress. Her short gray hair was brushed neatly back off her face. She is a thin, tall woman with surprisingly smooth skin and dark sunken eyes. I thank her again for her time. After she adjusts her hearing aid, we begin.
When I called to remind the nursing home staff of my second visit with Mrs. Doe, I was told that there was now a resident in the room we planned to use. I went to the interview early to see about another space. Mrs. Doe was back in her room. She was upset. She had spilled food on her dress at lunch and the nurseÆs aid wouldnÆt help her change into a clean dress for our interview.
Her room was exactly like the vacant one in which we previously met. There were two narrow beds; a bedside table with a glass, water container and lamp; and a single straight back chair. Mrs. Doe did not want to have the interview in her room because she did not want her roommate, who was bedridden, to ôhear her business.ö
I noticed that there were no personal pictures, books or other items in the room. Mrs. Doe said that you couldnÆt keep any personal items because they would be stolen - clothes, jewelry, books, anyt...