From golf courses and cow sheds to Mediterranean coastlines, virtual reality is helping Sydney’s aged care residents relive the lives they loved.
At Dougherty Apartments in Chatswood, CEO Kelvin Neave says new virtual reality technology is improving the lives of residents, staff, and families.
“We had one resident, Fred, who was a dairy farmer all his life,” says Kelvin. “When he sees cows being milked in VR, it completely calms him. It’s like he’s back home,” he said.
Dougherty Apartments is a unique eight-storey aged care and retirement living integrated community that brings together residential aged care, retirement units, and public housing under one roof.
Today, it delivers more than 300 VR sessions a month, more than many of Australia’s largest aged care providers.
The technology is used to calm residents during wound dressings, taking of the usual vital signs, reduces agitation for those with dementia, and reconnects people with meaningful places and memories.
Italian, Greek, Korean and Japanese residents ‘travel’ back to their homelands, lifelong golfers get one more round on the golf course and families join sessions, sharing stories with loved ones. That connection and conversation during and after these shared moments are priceless.
“It’s really taken off, the impact has been incredible,” says Kelvin. “Families enjoy getting involved and sharing stories and special moments with their loved ones by using the VR technology.”
The success of the VR program has earned Kelvin a finalist spot in Ageing Australia’s You Are ACE! Awards, recognised in the Individual – Innovation category.
“We’re a standalone service, but we’ve outpaced the big providers,” he says. “Because this isn’t a tech project it’s a care culture shift where residents benefit in many ways.”
However, implementation of the VR wasn’t without challenges, as Kelvin had to secure cross-departmental buy-in and deliver results on a tight budget.
“We didn’t have a corporate office or a tech budget,” he says. “But we had belief, and we had people willing to try. Taking everyone on the journey and seeing the benefits in direct care needs is truly what it is all about.”
Tom Symondson, CEO of Ageing Australia, says the result speaks volumes.
“Kelvin’s leadership shows what true innovation looks like, it’s scalable, evidence-based and deeply human,” says Symondson. “His work proves that innovation doesn’t have to be complex to be transformative.”
Kelvin’s innovation also extends beyond VR, he happily funds initiatives like “CEO Happy Hours,” where he and his executive team serve residents with hot and cold canapes, drinks to the sounds of live entertainment.
He also introduced “A Day in the Life”, where board members and senior staff work on the floor once a year, literally experiencing exactly what all department employees do daily. This has seen enormous benefits and very high retention of staff.
It’s all part of a lead-from-the-front ethos, with Kelvin setting the example himself. “You can’t expect to understand their pain points or have them come on any journey if you don’t lead from the front, positively.”
“I’m on site every morning at 6.30am at handovers, listening to staff and residents firsthand,” he says. “You can’t lead innovation from behind a desk, you have to be in it, every day.”
