Karin Karlsson – Design Thinking For Innovation                               January 7 , 2021 

 Reflection – Mind Mapping 

 Challenge 

 I had only been working in my job for two months .   Getting to know the staff and their procedure was my first   goal .   I have been an adult day program director for 28 years , opening two and rebuilding one .   I was now at an   established adult day program that just needed some new breath of air .   I was in the mist of a meeting with two of   my lead team members when we heard two loud crashes .   As we walked out of the office to investigate , we found   two of our main windows broken and one of the staff standing in front of a client who was holding a hand weight   ready to throw .   We were able to gain control by de - escalating the situation that one of my leads and myself knew   how to do .   We were lucky that no one was hurt .   Afterwards we investigated and filled out the proper licensing   forms for the incident .   I kept thinking about what happen and why .   I then realized that we had two vastly   different populations in our program .   Elderly dementia clients ( for which we are designed to server ) , and younger   behavioral clients ( easy money that the budget depends on now ) .   The handling of these two populations in   situations are totally different .   Staff would be required to know and respond at any given moment .   Yet the staff   was only trained for dementia clients .   But if we change back to dementia as we were designed to be , financially   could we keep our doors open ?   Why would anyone want to come to our program ? 

 Selection 

 Then one day , I was at a conference and a fellow adult day program director came over to me and asked : “ Why are   you known with the doctors and clinics as being the best adult day program in Frontal Lobe Disease ” ?    I did not   know we were ( but I did not tell her that ) .   And then that got me to thinking , this may be an opportunity to   capitalize on !   I needed to research more the “ What is ” in our program .   Looking at why our clients chose to come   to our program I started with the mind mapping approach . 

 Application 

 Mind mapping is looking for patterns and insights .   Therefore , we started to explore .   First , I needed to identify the   stakeholders :   Clients ( who have the disease ) , their caregivers , the doctors / clinics)and staff .   Second why chose our   program above other programs ? Because the client does not necessary want to come .   The doctors / clinics refer ,   and the caregiver chooses . 

 Starting with identifying clients with Front Lobe Disease and then corresponding them with their caregivers and   doctor offices .   Almost all our dementia clients had Front Lobe Disease .   Divided the list with the lead team we   started to do ethnographic interviews .   Caregivers were the most talkative and we let them run the conversation .   I   called the doctors and clinics to see why they referred their patients to us .     The findings presented more   questions .   To dig deeper by direct observation , I spent a day in the program as if I was a client .   I then went to   other day programs to see how they were run .   Staff was given a game to play … Why you work here ?   They were   asked to describe a situation that sums up why they work here . With all these findings we developed a Mind   Board .   Columns were drawn for each stakeholder group as well as programs visited .   Sticky notes were used with   comments and observations . 

 Insight 

 As the mind mapping developed , I found that there were several emotional as well as practical reasons why our   program was selected .   These patterns were highlighted . 

 For the client :   They felt that they were with friends who understood them and let them be themselves .   They 

 did not need to worry if they were right or wrong – they were accepted .   They also had a purpose in life again , a   reason to get up in the morning and go to bed at night .   They laughed and had fun .   The staff “ care ” and help them   kindly when mistakes were done .   For the Caregiver :   the facility was homelike , clean , and comfortable .   The staff   was very warm and kind , deeply knowledgeable and would bend over backward to help .   The staff walked with   them through this terrible journey and they felt that their loved one was safe .   For the Doctors and Clinics :    Caregivers and clients told how much they liked the program and how much better they were .   Doctors noticed   better attention span and engagement in conversations from clients .   Caregivers seem to be getting rest .   For staff :   it was very emotional .   Their stories shared were how they made a difference for someone .   That this was the first   “ mission ” they truly understood and proud to be partner with .   This was the best job they ever had . 

 There were observations in visits and interviews that also stood out .   In the other programs observed there was a   clear difference in the way staff approached clients and worked with them .   The facilities were more institutional   and colder .   The activities , although structured were large and few .   Clients were seated in areas without clear view   of activity at times . TV and sleep time seemed to be encouraged .   Behaviors were more obvious and frequent .    Staff was paid higher wages with more benefits . High turnover . 

 Our program spent more time in activities that were designed for their individual needs .   Routine was especially   important including individual restroom time schedule .   In activities they were faced in front with limited   distractions and smaller groups .   Exercise was two to three times a day ( yoga , large group , volleyball , stretching ,   small group ) , where they could choose or encourage .   There was no down time because staff always were ready   with another activity .   If the client needed to rest , they could , but was encouraged to participate .   Staff watch and   anticipated behaviors , ready to respond .   Staff also was very gentle and sympathetic towards the clients – Helping   rather than doing .   They were there for a purpose – to be themselves .   Staff was lowest paid in area with good   benefits .   Lower turn over . 

 These findings were amazing .   But the biggest driving force behind their choice was from a support group   downtown and local churches .   It was from caregivers who use the services and by word of mouth suggested us .    The facilitator of the support group would report this in their routine meetings with doctors and clinics .   The   churches would talk between each other and referred by pastors / priests/ parish nurses through conversations   with their caregivers .   A caregiver has so much guilt and fear of “ handing ” over their love one to someone else to   care for .   And they wanted to hear from people they trust .   They are relentless in finding the perfect place .   And   here we were .   The biggest finding was our own caregivers !   Word of mouth was our marketing tool for this   population . 

 Approach 

 Before this tool was used , previous directors used hutches and assumptions .   They based the program on the rates   and basically anyone who wanted to come to keep their attendance up .   They had long ago forgot their direction .    Through Mind Mapping it showed “ why ” clients come and what motivated their caregiver to choose us .   How   doctors and clinics knew about us .   Why our employees stay with us at low pay .   The breath of air we needed was   Mind Mapping to open What if ?   Specialized day programs are hard to find , but what this has showed that there   may be an opportunity . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Karin Karlsson
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Karin Karlsson – Design Thinking For Innovation                               January 7 , 2021 

 Reflection – Mind Mapping 

 Challenge 

 I had only been working in my job for two months .   Getting to know the staff and their procedure was my first   goal .   I have been an adult day program director for 28 years , opening two and rebuilding one .   I was now at an   established adult day program that just needed some new breath of air .   I was in the mist of a meeting with two of   my lead team members when we heard two loud crashes .   As we walked out of the office to investigate , we found   two of our main windows broken and one of the staff standing in front of a client who was holding a hand weight   ready to throw .   We were able to gain control by de - escalating the situation that one of my leads and myself knew   how to do .   We were lucky that no one was hurt .   Afterwards we investigated and filled out the proper licensing   forms for the incident .   I kept thinking about what happen and why .   I then realized that we had two vastly   different populations in our program .   Elderly dementia clients ( for which we are designed to server ) , and younger   behavioral clients ( easy money that the budget depends on now ) .   The handling of these two populations in   situations are totally different .   Staff would be required to know and respond at any given moment .   Yet the staff   was only trained for dementia clients .   But if we change back to dementia as we were designed to be , financially   could we keep our doors open ?   Why would anyone want to come to our program ? 

 Selection 

 Then one day , I was at a conference and a fellow adult day program director came over to me and asked : “ Why are   you known with the doctors and clinics as being the best adult day program in Frontal Lobe Disease ” ?    I did not   know we were ( but I did not tell her that ) .   And then that got me to thinking , this may be an opportunity to   capitalize on !   I needed to research more the “ What is ” in our program .   Looking at why our clients chose to come   to our program I started with the mind mapping approach . 

 Application 

 Mind mapping is looking for patterns and insights .   Therefore , we started to explore .   First , I needed to identify the   stakeholders :   Clients ( who have the disease ) , their caregivers , the doctors / clinics)and staff .   Second why chose our   program above other programs ? Because the client does not necessary want to come .   The doctors / clinics refer ,   and the caregiver chooses . 

 Starting with identifying clients with Front Lobe Disease and then corresponding them with their caregivers and   doctor offices .   Almost all our dementia clients had Front Lobe Disease .   Divided the list with the lead team we   started to do ethnographic interviews .   Caregivers were the most talkative and we let them run the conversation .   I   called the doctors and clinics to see why they referred their patients to us .     The findings presented more   questions .   To dig deeper by direct observation , I spent a day in the program as if I was a client .   I then went to   other day programs to see how they were run .   Staff was given a game to play … Why you work here ?   They were   asked to describe a situation that sums up why they work here . With all these findings we developed a Mind   Board .   Columns were drawn for each stakeholder group as well as programs visited .   Sticky notes were used with   comments and observations . 

 Insight 

 As the mind mapping developed , I found that there were several emotional as well as practical reasons why our   program was selected .   These patterns were highlighted . 

 For the client :   They felt that they were with friends who understood them and let them be themselves .   They 

 did not need to worry if they were right or wrong – they were accepted .   They also had a purpose in life again , a   reason to get up in the morning and go to bed at night .   They laughed and had fun .   The staff “ care ” and help them   kindly when mistakes were done .   For the Caregiver :   the facility was homelike , clean , and comfortable .   The staff   was very warm and kind , deeply knowledgeable and would bend over backward to help .   The staff walked with   them through this terrible journey and they felt that their loved one was safe .   For the Doctors and Clinics :    Caregivers and clients told how much they liked the program and how much better they were .   Doctors noticed   better attention span and engagement in conversations from clients .   Caregivers seem to be getting rest .   For staff :   it was very emotional .   Their stories shared were how they made a difference for someone .   That this was the first   “ mission ” they truly understood and proud to be partner with .   This was the best job they ever had . 

 There were observations in visits and interviews that also stood out .   In the other programs observed there was a   clear difference in the way staff approached clients and worked with them .   The facilities were more institutional   and colder .   The activities , although structured were large and few .   Clients were seated in areas without clear view   of activity at times . TV and sleep time seemed to be encouraged .   Behaviors were more obvious and frequent .    Staff was paid higher wages with more benefits . High turnover . 

 Our program spent more time in activities that were designed for their individual needs .   Routine was especially   important including individual restroom time schedule .   In activities they were faced in front with limited   distractions and smaller groups .   Exercise was two to three times a day ( yoga , large group , volleyball , stretching ,   small group ) , where they could choose or encourage .   There was no down time because staff always were ready   with another activity .   If the client needed to rest , they could , but was encouraged to participate .   Staff watch and   anticipated behaviors , ready to respond .   Staff also was very gentle and sympathetic towards the clients – Helping   rather than doing .   They were there for a purpose – to be themselves .   Staff was lowest paid in area with good   benefits .   Lower turn over . 

 These findings were amazing .   But the biggest driving force behind their choice was from a support group   downtown and local churches .   It was from caregivers who use the services and by word of mouth suggested us .    The facilitator of the support group would report this in their routine meetings with doctors and clinics .   The   churches would talk between each other and referred by pastors / priests/ parish nurses through conversations   with their caregivers .   A caregiver has so much guilt and fear of “ handing ” over their love one to someone else to   care for .   And they wanted to hear from people they trust .   They are relentless in finding the perfect place .   And   here we were .   The biggest finding was our own caregivers !   Word of mouth was our marketing tool for this   population . 

 Approach 

 Before this tool was used , previous directors used hutches and assumptions .   They based the program on the rates   and basically anyone who wanted to come to keep their attendance up .   They had long ago forgot their direction .    Through Mind Mapping it showed “ why ” clients come and what motivated their caregiver to choose us .   How   doctors and clinics knew about us .   Why our employees stay with us at low pay .   The breath of air we needed was   Mind Mapping to open What if ?   Specialized day programs are hard to find , but what this has showed that there   may be an opportunity .
### Output: 