A GENEROUS donation was music to the ears of residents at Boandik Lodge.
The aged care facility recently 40 headsets to help treat patients with dementia courtesy of the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier West.
Each headset plays music which has been hand-picked by clients, often family members, who can relay past memories and experiences and identify it with different kinds of music.
The funding of the headsets came from community fundraising through the Rotary Club and was matched by a Rotary Foundation District Grant.
Mount Gambier West Rotary Club president Ray Herbert said their project was inspired by another club in Western Australia, so they asked institutions in Mount Gambier if there was a need for a project such as this.
“We were advised at that stage that Boandik Lodge could handle up to 40 units and so it was the start of kicking it off,” Mr Herbert said.
“We have provided assistance for Boandik as a club through various means but this is the first foray into mental health.”
Mr Herbert said there was also a less urgent demand from two other facilities in Mount Gambier; Resthaven and The Oaks.
He said the Rotary club would eventually extend the project to the two facilities, as well as opening the option for members of the community to receive the headsets.
“If anybody else in the community is being cared for on an individual basis at home, then we’re receptive to working with those people,” he said.
Mr Herbert added other local clubs such as Millicent and Casterton expressed an interest in expanding the project further across the district.
