By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
DUNNVILLE—Residents of Grandview Lodge have a new way to connect and engage in social activities with the recent installation of Obie, an interactive gaming console that projects holographic images onto any flat space and transforms it into a touch-sensitive gaming surface.
Amy Appel, Supervisor of Programs and Support at Grandview initially entered the home in a contest to win the machine from AdvantAge Ontario. While they weren’t the lucky winner, Appel decided to contact the company anyways “after reviewing the many benefits that the Obie has to offer…. They explained how our home could trial the Obie for a month free of charge. The cost for one is quite expensive and we wanted to make sure that our residents would love the Obie and benefit from it before we decide to try and purchase one.”
Educational material for the Obie says it “projects stimulating and therapeutic games for seniors,” which “has shown great results in mitigating the negative effects of social isolation during these challenging times.”
DUNNVILLE—Residents Neal Page and May Passmore enjoy one of the over 50 games available to choose from on the OBIE.
Residents can choose between a list of over 50 games, with new games added to the service monthly. The games target the individual cognitive level of players, adjusting difficulty to help users achieve a positive result.
“Our games promote gentle physical activity, socializing, and problem-solving to increase the overall vitality of residents in different cognitive and physical conditions,” said Obie material. “This system has been developed through the guidance of a team of industry professionals, which includes experts in the field of aging and cognitive impairment.”
With this in mind, Appel was excited to bring this experience to Grandview: “This past year has had a major impact on our residents’ physical, cognitive, and social well-being. We need to continue to strive to find ways to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our residents in every way possible and we believe the Obie will be a huge success.”
Obie was installed on August 1, 2021 and Appel says it has been very popular thus far, noting that staff have created a schedule for each home area within Grandview to try it out and offer feedback. OBIE can also be programmed with a pre-determined schedule and left to run on its own, allowing family members to enjoy it while visiting their loved one. Following health guidelines is as simple as wiping down the table or surface OBIE is projecting on.
Early in the pandemic, Grandview was one fortunate recipient of iPads and tablets for residents to connect with loved ones digitally when visitors were not permitted. Appel said this is an example of how technology can keep residents engaged.
“We need to find new ways to continue teaching residents about technology and how they can benefit from it,” she explained. “The research from the Obie is very promising and we can’t wait to see and evaluate how the Obie has helped our residents. It was very hard to see the impact the pandemic and the restrictions put in place had on our residents.”
“The Obie’s technology is senior friendly and extremely versatile,” Appel added, explaining that Obie is specifically designed to help seniors adapt to the new technology on an individual level. “We can decide which games are best suited for who and then create their own individual gaming play list.”
“If the trial is successful, we hope we will be able to purchase one,” she concluded, noting it currently resides in their game room. “From what we have seen so far and the many people enjoying it, it would be amazing to also have one potentially in each home area. However, that might take a little while to achieve.”
