Tasmanian aged care residents are seeing the world from the comfort of an immersive custom-built train carriage, invoking the wonder of the greatest rail journeys on earth.
Not-for-profit aged care provider OneCare has partnered with Olive Express, an Australian company creating realistic virtual journeys for residents who can no longer travel, and a University of Tasmania research team.
Olive Express fits out trailers as beautiful old-world train carriages that can seat up to 8 ‘travellers’ or be adapted to fit wheelchairs and day beds. The windows are TV screens, playing famous train journeys across the UK, Europe, China, Japan and US – and now including a very special Tasmanian tour.
OneCare Chief Operations Officer Natalie Neilson said the residents’ excitement was palpable.
“Our residents have led rich and varied lives – some have travelled to these destinations before and are keen to relive past holidays, while others are looking forward to experiencing brand-new cultures,” she said.
“They’re excited to ‘travel’ with their friends here at our homes, and to invite family along to join them for a ride. It’ll be a real social boost, bringing in more visitors and strengthening community connection, providing a wonderful shared experience to talk about, and a prompt to reminisce about past adventures.”
“We’re going all out, with passports, boarding passes, maps, costumes and polaroids to give residents a truly immersive experience.
“We’re also thrilled that Olive Express has filmed Tasmania’s own West Coast Wilderness Railway for inclusion in the suite of journeys. That’s going to be really special when the trailer reaches our Umina Park home in Burnie, where some residents grew up on the west coast.”
Researchers from the University of Tasmania are partnering with One Care to explore how residents respond to the Olive Express experience, including its impact on mood, conversation and social engagement.
“We are delighted to be partnering with One Care on this project and to explore how residents engage with the virtual travel experience”, said Associate Professor Jade Cartwright from the School of Health Sciences.
“Early research suggests that Olive Express has the potential to enhance residents’ wellbeing and stimulate meaningful conversation. We are particularly interested in understanding how shared experiences like these can support social connection and be sustainably integrated into routine care.”
Dr Cartwright was joined by research colleagues from the University including Dr Cassandra Thomson and Dr Hoang Nguyen from the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, and Dr Kiran Ahuja from the School of Health Sciences.
Olive Express Founding Director Che Turner said the idea sprang from his own nan Olive’s love of travel.
“When someone with a lifelong passion for travel moves into aged care, that passion doesn’t disappear,” Mr Turner said.
“Olive Express facilitates that same joy, excitement and nostalgia, without the physical demands of travel.
“As well as the social and cognitive benefits, we’ve seen other more unexpected positives – for instance, older people’s appetites diminish, and it can be harder to finish a square meal.
“When the carriage is set up as a dining car, residents linger over their meal and eat more, because they’re engaged by the journey and conversation.
“We’re thrilled to be working with OneCare to now bring the Olive Express experience to older Tasmanians.”
OneCare’s Olive Express trailer will travel around Tasmania, spending around six weeks at each of its five facilities statewide. The ‘journeys’ are open to OneCare residential care and retirement village residents and home care clients, as well as their guests.
Main image: Laurie Bennett (left) and Patricia Direen.