Princes Court Homes, Mildura to use virtual reality with dementia patients

An aged care home in Mildura is using an outside the box treatment to help people with dementia.

Princes Court Homes in Mildura has received $10,000 in council funding to purchase five new virtual reality headsets to help improve their residents quality of life.

After a highly successful trial program in August, the aged care facility applied for funding to buy their own VR headsets through the Mildura Rural City Council’s community grant program.

The program had its funding approved during October’s council meeting and Councilor Helen Healy spoke about the how the headsets would help people with dementia.

“It's a really amazing thing to help people with dementia, to create another world for them,” she said.

Princes Court Homes chief executive Jenny Garonne said the headsets would allow residents to be transported anywhere in the world, adding to some the programs they already have.

“We have something called armchair travel ... well this is taking that one step further and allowing residents to be transported to wherever they’d like,” she said.

Ms Garonne said the headsets help residents with dementia live fuller lives.

“With dementia patients, their memory from their past is still very brilliant ... so it fantastic for them to be able to connect with their memories,” she said.

“We will be trying to connect the resident up with their interest, the things they remember.”

The care home should receiving their headsets in next few weeks.