What if… instead of drab hospital walls, your long-term care home was bursting with colour and lively imagery meant to stimulate the senses?
Residents at both the Gorge Road Health Centre and The Summit in Victoria, BC have seen this come to life recently with the installation of new wall murals and door vinyls that have transformed the long-term care units into something magical. Funded by Eldercare Foundation donors, the murals bring personality and flair to hallways and common spaces, with images depicting nature scenes, bookshelves, window views and so much more.
The murals and door vinyls are created by Sensory Scapes, a Canadian company specializing in enhancing dementia and senior care spaces.
Both The Gorge Arbutus View unit as well as the Camas and Lily units at The Summit are dedicated to residents who have exceptional needs, including dementia. The new vinyls installed to individual room doors bring an immediate positive effect on how the resident finds and identifies with their room. This in turn assists staff, who then spend less time helping residents back to their private spaces. The new door-scapes have already been a hit with residents, staff and families.
At the Gorge, additional murals have been installed alongside new door vinyls. The elevators and nursing stations have been wrapped in different styles that help protect privacy and the workspace of nurses and other staff, while still maintaining the ability to keep watch over and remain available to residents. Sensory Scapes also engaged local artists and photographers to add imagery that was inspired by southern Vancouver Island, including the Malahat lookout and visuals of birds, snapped by local photographers.
“They’re beautiful, they add colour, and we hope that they’ll add some help with wayfinding,” says Erin Carpenter, Occupational Therapist at The Summit. “And they really add a lot of life into the space, so it doesn’t look so institutional and like a hospital.”
Ashwen Maruthamuthu, Rehab Assistant at the Gorge Road Health Centre, has noticed th effect that the new additions have had on residents there. “The murals offer the residents peace and comfort, as well sparking conversations with others. The doors and murals really make the unit feel more like a neighbourhood.”
Eldercare Foundation Executive Director Tom Arnold says that “enhancing long-term care homes is such a big part of our work. Being able to support a project like this that will impact so many residents as well as staff is a big point of pride for Eldercare and our donors.”
Eldercare extends are deepest thanks to the many donors who have made this project possible. We are already looking forward to offering these exciting enhancements at other long-term care sites across the Island.
"The post-intervention data demonstrated that there was a reduction in persistent walking, eloping behaviours and spatial disorientation. In addition, ongoing anecdotal evidence found that individuals continued to seek out others to showcase their unique door."
