We have Virtual Reality
Sunnyside has now acquired its first Virtual Reality (VR) headset. It was purchased by the Technology Club (from resident contributions) to be used for the purposes of exploring how VR might enhance resident lives.
The headset is an Oculus Quest which is a new headset released to the market about 6 months ago. It is the first really effective ‘untethered’ headset (meaning that it does not require a cord connection to a high-powered computer) and the market appears to be reacting very favorably toward it.
To date 20-25 residents have at least tried it briefly (it was very popular at the Tech Faire). The Technology Club is working to introduce it to as many residents as possible, so stay tuned for your chance. They are also working with staff in both Assisted Living and Healthcare to explore
If you are interested in giving it a try, you can send email to Don Oxley (don@theoxleys.com) and he will arrange it for you.
There is a rapidly growing body of research pointing to the possibility of significant applications in the senior community. See the Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_therapy as an example.
--Don Oxley