Wii helps keep seniors active
Kevin Callahan/Courier-Post
By Kevin Callahan, Courier-Post Staff
Although in a wheelchair and limited to the use of just her left hand, Dolores Glander still bowls with her husband of 58 years, Al.
"Sometimes she beats me," Al Glander said smiling. "Of course, I help her."
Wii bowling games are helping residents of St. Mary's Catholic Home in Cherry Hill, a long-term care facility, such as Dolores Glander, 79, stay active and have fun.
"They make it so she can enjoy a sport she couldn't do otherwise," Al Glander said recently.
Wii isn't just a kids game anymore.
Senior citizens at St. Mary's Catholic Home are playing the popular video game that uses a remote control console to mimic the motion of a sport with the results of the arm action seen on the TV screen.
"We can sit and bowl together. It is exercise," said Glander, 80, a longtime resident of Pennsauken who now lives at the Manor at St. Mary's, senior retirement residences next to St. Mary's Catholic Home.
St. Mary's Catholic Home, which has 215 residents, most of them 80 or older, has offered Wii for exercise twice a week for the last two years.
"Initially, the residents said their grandson did it and they didn't want to do it," said Dexter Hebron, a physical therapist at St. Mary's Catholic Home. "But once they saw it and how challenging it is, it raised their interest."
Hebron evaluates the balance and strength of all residents who want to use Wii for exercise. He then puts them in groups of four with similar physical abilities to play the game.
In addition to bowling, Wii games in tennis, baseball, golf and target shooting are used.
However, Wii isn't used just to keep moving.
"It is also for socialization and interaction," Hebron said.
St. Mary's Catholic Home has three Wii game systems, and more bowling and baseball are being encouraged.
"We see Wii as helpful and we would like to see more people playing it," said Allison Burton, the activities director. "Each time we do it, more and more people come out."
In addition to Wii, St. Mary's Catholic Home is now offering a sensory stimulation machine for its residents who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Both diseases are progressive and irreversible neurological disorders that affect a person's ability to understand sensory information.
This new machine, which arrived in early February, is called the Vecta Distraction station. It is a powerful multisensory environment delivery system.
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"It is a new and innovative approach to how we interact and provide treatment for those who are suffering," Burton said. "Some of our residents can no longer experience the tranquil outdoor environment that they once enjoyed. The Vecta Distraction station helps the residents stay in touch by tapping into each realm of their senses by soothing distressed minds."
Dolores Glander has begun using this machine, which projects images of airplanes, flowers, butterflies and nature scenes on an adjacent wall while utilizing multisensory items such as a bubble column, fiber optics, music and aromatherapy.
"Even though she is not speaking, she makes verbal noises and lets me know she is enjoying it," Lucia Carosella, an activity aide, said about Dolores Glander.
The station, which cost about $4,300, can be moved from room to room. The activity staff has the ability to control the amount of stimulus a patient receives.
Reach Kevin Callahan at (856) 317-7821 or kcallahan@gannett.com.
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