Pre-Med Junior Fieldwork Reflection Writing:

Name:
Bailey Campanella

A/B Day:
A Day

Advisory Teacher:
Mrs. Keeble

Fieldwork Location:
Healdsburg Senior Living

PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT:

Complete this section before you go on your fieldwork trip. If you do not know about the
organization, please research and include your research findings below.

1. What do you know of the location you will be visiting? What services does the
organization provide?
I know that the location I will be visiting is in Healdsburg. The organization provides
housing( includinging food) to the elders that live their. The neighborhood is designed to
be a home where residents can age in place, knowing that all their needs are taken care
of. They provide Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing services through
customized care plans.

2. If you are visiting a specific department within the agency, what is that department's
primary focus?

The two main specific visiting departments at the Healdsburg Senior Living are people
with memory loss, and people who don’t have memory loss. The people with better minds
are able to leave and come back as they please. While the people with memory care
problems are more closing watched, and aren’t allowed to leave without supervision.

3. What is the public health function the organization/agency addresses?

(Assessment, Policy Development, Assurance)
The main purpose is to create a neighborhood that can be a safe environment for all, and
 for people to feel like they are treated as family. Everyone should feel welcomed and
loved when staying at the Healdsburg Senior Living center; that is their main goal.

4. What preconceived ideas (personal bias) do you have about the location you will be
visiting?

I actually have a grandma who lives in a memory care facility, so I am used to this type of
environment. The place that my grandma stays at actually has people with worse
memories compared to the people staying in the Healdsburg Senior Living center. Since
I’m around these different types of environments I can adapt to anything. I’m excited to
experience a different living facility and see the differences between where my grandma
stays and theHealdsburg Senior Living.

DURING YOUR VISIT - OBSERVATION:

Review the prompts in advance and take a small notebook on your fieldwork visit. You should
be taking notes on each of these topics so you will be able to add your observations after you
return.
Close Read your Surroundings:
Observe the physical space and "read" them as if close reading a text. Pay attention to:
● sensory details
● signs posted
● languages you hear
● colors of the offices and uniforms.
● does the location have a certain smell?
● what sounds do you hear?
Observations: While I was at the Healdsburg Senior Living Center I noticed some positive
things about the environment. I noticed that it felt more like a home rather than a clinic
type environment. There were lots of brightly colored decor, and flowers. There wasn't any
kind of weird smell, it just smelled normal. I was a little surprised by this because when a
lot of people are in one area it can start to smell a little strange. It wasn't too loud inside
because most of the elders living there weren't talking that much until we interacted with
them.The center gave off an overall good vibe and it didn’t feel weird to be there. The
decorations and the kind people working there really made the place feel comfortable to
be around.

Observe your Emotional Response: Take notice of your reactions (emotional and physical)
to different things and reflect on why you might be reacting this way.
 Observations::My friend Sara and I were matched up with a really kind lady named Bev,
She was really sweet and she mainly talked about stories from her childhood. I could tell
that she had some sort of memory loss condition, and I knew how to handle this because
of my grandma. My grandma lives in a memory care home and has dementia. It did make
me a little emotional when I was talking to Bev because she reminded me of my grandma.
I really liked when we were all listening to her music because she changed into a brighter
mood. I teared up a little when Somewhere Over The Rainbow came on. Bev started to
tear up because it reminded her of her childhood. Seeing her so happy made me tear up,
but in a happy way. Im very glad that I got to meet Bev and I really enjoyed the experience.

Ask questions of the person you’re shadowing and/or the industry people you encounter:
- general questions of interest
- relating to your potential career choices
- public health-related issues and challenges they see as important to consider.

Record your questions and answers here.

Observations: I asked Bev more general questions such as, what was your childhood like.
This way she cou;ld speak freely about anything in her past. I I tried not to make the
questions to complicated because since I could tell that she had a memory loss conditions,
I didn't want to overwhelm her, I felt like it was best to let Bev talk about whatever she feels
like, rather than forcing a conversation topic that she didn’t want to talk about. I found this
to be the best way to communicate, I try to do the same thing with my grandma. Since I am
so used to my grandma, talking to people with memory loss has become easy.

Summary Reflection
After your return from your fieldwork experience address each prompt below to capture your
thoughts on your experience.

Reflect on specific highlights or observations from the day. What was a lesson (big or small)
you took away from your experience? Consider lessons that presented themselves in both
positive and negative ways.
Reflection:: I learned many things from Bev, but the most important thing that I learned
was to take each day one at a time. She talked about how she is happy living at the
Healdsburg Senior Living and how she enjoys every day. She knows that people don’t
 live forever, and she told me to enjoy every minute of each day. This has really stuck with
me because I always worry about the future. The future isn't guaranteed, so you have to
enjoy each day and live in the present.

How did the experience meet, exceed, or fall short of your expectations? Explain and
include specific details from your fieldwork notes to help support your answer
Reflection:: This experience has exceeded all of my expectations and I'm very glad that
I was able to have this experience. It has taught me to appreciate my life and to enjoy
every day rather than worrying about the future. I'm very fortunate that I got to learn so
much about my partner Bev. It was very special when we all listened to music with her
and I was able to see her become more animated. That was my favorite part, in fact it
made me tear up with happiness to see Bev so happy.

What connection can be made between what you saw on your fieldwork experience and
the functions of Public Health?
Some suggestions
- the role of public health within this career path
- public health needs or challenges within the field you observed
- thoughts on how to address these needs

Reflection:: I was a little sceptical when I first saw the Alive video because I didn;I
expect music to actually help people with memory loss to remember more things
from their pasts. I was really glad that I would be able to see if it actually worked, and
to my amazement it did. Once my partner Be listened to her music her attitude
changed almost immediately. She somehow remembered almost everything about
her past and started to stalk about it. I think that it’s great that the Healdsburg Senior
Living has headphones and music for the people that need it. These headphones
should be used in all facilities that have people with memory loss conditions. There
should be more adds about this and social media should be used to express the
impact and positive outcomes of having headphones. Before I came to the
Healdsburg Senior Living center I didn't know anything about music and how it can
help people with memory loss conditions. Creating more awareness about the topic
can impact many people in many positive ways.