MONROE, Ohio — Joann Kersh, 88, is sitting in the cockpit used by an aerobatic flight team.
“I'm looking at a pilot, right at his face,” she exclaims as the aircraft soars over Croatia.
I try to ask her a question about the last time she’s been on an airplane, but she tells me to hold it. She can’t hear over the roar of the whirling propellers as the plane barrels upside down.
Six minutes later, the ride ends, and Kersh is exactly where she started: A senior living facility in Monroe, Ohio.
She was wearing a virtual reality headset.
“We’re not going to be able to go traveling like this,” she said. “We get to see things we’re not going to see.”
In her hands is a green virtual reality headset made by Rendever. The content is especially made for seniors, to help them overcome social isolation and depression.
One study found that 40% of nursing home residents exhibit a sense of loneliness, which can lead to lower quality of life.
Kim Porter is the director of activities for skilled nursing at Ohio Living Mount Pleasant, where they’ve been using the headsets for about two years.
“The last thing you want is people to think that they just come here and that's the end. We really want them to know that there's so much more quality of life that they can have,” she said.
The positive impact is why more are on their way to the facility.
“Some of our long term care residents who maybe can't even communicate as well," she said. "We'll put these headsets on them, and they're suddenly smiling and laughing and interacting with what they're seeing.”
While each participant gets their own headset, the experience is controlled by a central tablet. That means the group will "travel" to various locations together. The headset has a speaker built in for sound.
On Thursday, seniors in Monroe drove race cars, visited an animal sanctuary and relaxed on a peaceful porch. The platform also has options for live meditations, games and trivia.
Any cognitive level can use the device, Porter said. Those who choose not to use the headsets can still experience the device on the TV.
“It’s been fun to see the families giving us feedback,” she said, referencing a family mentioning a resident’s excitement describing getting to drive a race car.
“Obviously, we know he didn’t actually drive a race car, but the experience was so real for him that he felt emotionally and maybe even physically like he had actually done it," she said.
For Kersh, the group’s experience watching videos at an animal sanctuary brought back memories. Her father grew up in a place that was similar, she said.
“I was able to be with these animals a couple times a year actually,” Kersh said.
The headset is adding life to her years.
“I guess it’s sort of depressing when you think about it, but at my age, you know, this is where I’m going to spend the rest of my life,” she said. “I think it makes me feel a little bit more human."
