It has been our pleasure these past eight weeks to drop in at different stages of a massive and frankly loving upgrade of services for dementia residents at the IOOF Seniors Homes Inc. in south Barrie. Our thanks to Micheline Robichaud, the Manager of Revenue Development for asking us to cover this story.

The project uses bright colours and simplistic imagery to help orient and calm the residents as they tour down country lanes and city streets past familiar sights to find their home door by its unique appearance.

The idea came to Ashley Frenette, the Assistant Director of Resident Care, after learning of another similar project in Ontario that was following the concept of the Butterfly Model now used in parts of Europe including England.

No human being ever grows so old that they do not want beauty in their lives, and this break from traditional care provides the residents with the feeling of being at home. Kudos to the staff, management and Board of Directors at IOOF Senior Homes for caring so much about their residents.