Virtual Dementia Tour makes stop in Rainy River

By Ken Johnston
Editor

The Kenora-Rainy River Alzheimer Society’s Virtual Dementia Tour visited Rainy River last Thursday.
Thanks to the recently hired First Link and Public Education Coordinator Eleanor Barron, five staff members at Riverview Manor participated in the tour last week in Rainy River.
The program was originally developed in the United States to give health care professionals a better understanding what people with dementia deal with every day. It has been expanded to not only teach health care workers but also caregivers; including family members who care for loved ones suffering from forms of dementia including Alzheimer Disease.
Five Northern Independent Living Support workers donned special goggles and gloves Thursday as part of the tour. The gloves have little nubs on the inside to dull the sense of touch. The goggles are yellowed like many elderly people’s glasses. They also have a big dot in the middle to emulate macular degeneration and are equipped with blinders on the side. “Many people with dementia lose their peripheral vision as they age,” explained Barron.
The participants are then taken into a dimly lit room where static noise plays. They are then assigned several tasks that a person without the effects of dementia would normally have no trouble doing. Things like setting the table, folding laundry, etc.
Before the participants take the tour, they are given a survey of how they can do everyday tasks and their comfort levels in certain situations. They then take another survey after to see how perceptions change.
“Some comments I received show that they have a better understanding of how people with dementia experience life.” said Barron.
Rainy River was her first stop on the tour. She will be holding the same tour in Fort Frances for the public this Wednesday at the Super 8 motel from 1-7 p.m.
January is Alzheimer Awareness Month.