COVID-19: Our Response to the Pandemic
Wentworth Manor
Contact Us
  • Live at Wentworth Manor
  • Contact Us
Contact Us
X
Home
Live at Wentworth Manor
    • Enrich Your Life
    • Accommodations
    • Our Place in The Community
    • Our Services
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Our Homelike Environment
    • Photo Galleries
News
Contact Us
  • Live at Wentworth Manor
    • Enrich Your Life
    • Accommodations
    • Our Place in The Community
    • Our Services
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Our Homelike Environment
    • Photo Galleries
  • Contact Us

    Sharon is a resident at Wentworth Manor trialing Virtual Reality for recreational therapy.

    Watch Video

    Virtual reality pilot project allows seniors to escape their dementia

    Posted on August 3, 2018 in Wentworth Manor News

    More than a dozen Calgary seniors living with dementia are visiting local attractions such as the Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park and the Calgary Stampede and all without ever leaving their home.

    Sharon Quinn just saw a tiger at the Calgary Zoo and she's loving it. "It was just great," Quinn told CBC News. But she didn't physically go to the zoo. She experienced it through the lenses of virtual reality goggles. She's one of 12 seniors with dementia enjoying a virtual reality pilot project. The 82-year-old visited the zoo, Heritage Park and even the Sydney Opera House, captured in 3D using a 360-degree camera.

    "I like the fact we can go and enjoy different things. There are things in all of them that I like. There are so many things that you can do and it's nice to be able to get a feeling for it and then you can go and see it really, if you want to," she said with a smile.

    Her husband, Bob Quinn, says the experience has put a sparkle in Sharon's eyes. "I've been very impressed with the way it's gone so far," Bob said. "I think it stimulates the brain and that's a wonderful thing."

    Barry Pendergast is the man behind the project run by The Brenda Strafford Foundation. He says it's an opportunity to go to a safe place or venture out of one's comfort zone.

    "It's trying to get stuff that's familiar to the people and it seems to be resonating with them," Pendergast said. "We've had one guy who looked incredibly frail coming in and within minutes he's just looking up at these crazy rides at the Stampede. It's just wild."

    And sometimes it's about revisiting a pleasurable time. "Like Bill, who was a pilot, I can take him flying," Pendergast said.

    "He can actually fly a plane again in here, where he'll never fly again in reality. Or go for a sail. So we can do a lot of things that they could not normally do."

    The pilot project is running at Wentworth Manor in southwest Calgary, but if it's successful in terms of emotional and physical benefits, The Foundation would look for expansion funding.


    Courtesy of CBC News' David Bell with files from Lucie Edwardson and Radio-Canada's Nelly Alberola​.

    Related Media:

    • CBC News - Virtual reality pilot project allows seniors to escape their dementia
    • CBC The Homestretch - Calgary seniors take virtual reality adventures from the safety and comfort of Wentworth Manor

    Other Articles in Wentworth Manor News

    Statement from the President and CEO: Incident at Wentworth Manor
    Last updated April 27, 2020
    Creating a vibrant neighbourhood, indoors.
    Last updated September 16, 2019
    Wentworth Manor Volunteer Receives National Medal
    Last updated April 30, 2017
    The Brenda Strafford Foundation Ltd.
    4628 Montgomery Blvd NW
    Calgary, AB T3B 0K7

    Charitable Registration#
    105198873RR0001
    Communities Directory Donate
    Copyright © 2021 The Brenda Strafford Foundation. All Rights Reserved
    Site Designed and Built in 2019 Tobias Crichton Studios
    Manor Theme 1.2