A Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care unit for older patients is looking a little more vibrant these days.
The Horizon Program for Geriatric Psychiatry now boasts 14 large, colourful paintings of lively scenes and landscapes — a change designed to promote calmness, reduce boredom and improve safety.
Ifat Witz, clinical director of Horizon's acute assessment/swing program and ECT program, said the paintings are part of a long-term plan to create a space that doesn't feel as much like a hospital.
“We are really creating a new type of recovery space,” said Witz, adding the transformation also included repainting the walls and bringing in new furniture.
“You can just see it transitioning in front of our eyes. It’s so beautiful and reflects the human element of all that we do.”
Patient safety was also considered by cleverly camouflaging exit points that includes an elevator plastered with colourful vines and a door painted to look like a coat rack.
There are also other concrete benefits, according to a Waypoint release, including creating greater depth perception aided by contrasting colours, which becomes more important as people age and their vision deteriorates.
“Patients having a meal on a dark table, for example, are less likely to see what they’re eating, so cream-coloured tables were purchased to improve food intake,” the release stated.
One of the new murals shows a canoe gliding across a placid, tree-lined lake; blues and greens have been shown to be calming and comforting. Other walls feature a traditional European market, a dazzling underwater tableau and a fireplace in a cozy cottage.
Horizon is for people over 65 with signs and symptoms of a psychiatric disorder, as well as those under 65 with Alzheimer’s or dementia. The program provides a safe and secure environment that includes a day room, a secured patio area, a dining room and rooms for therapy, activities and visiting.
Occupational therapist Kate Thomson said it’s been a delight to see the Horizon program come alive over the past year.
“We have new colour, contrast and age-appropriate stimulation with new furniture and wall posters,” Thomson said. “It’s been a great team effort. I’m looking forward to more change in the future.”
