Lutheran Homes Barossa: NeuronsVR Therapy and Dementia Care in the Barossa Valley
Lutheran Homes Barossa: bringing the Barossa to residents
Meaningful dementia care starts with one question: who is this person, and what has made their life meaningful? At Tanunda Lutheran Home, Lutheran Homes Barossa has built its dementia care around that question. NeuronsVR and local winery Lambert Estate joined them to help residents reconnect with the work, places and memories that shaped their lives.
Spaces that spark recognition
Lutheran Homes Barossa created reminiscence spaces residents recognise. A General Store, stocked with items sourced from local communities and private collections. A Tuscany-inspired room. Wine-themed areas. A working Men’s Shed. Executive Operations Manager Rachel Strudwick and Executive Care Manager Sharon Berridge helped bring these spaces to life.
Bringing the Barossa to residents
Many residents spent their working lives in the Barossa’s vineyards and wineries. So NeuronsVR filmed a new VR therapy program on location at Lambert Estate, a family-owned Barossa winery. Kirk and Jim Lambert opened their vineyard and winery for filming.
The program follows the full winemaking year: vineyard work, harvest, crushing, fermentation, barrel ageing and bottling. For a resident who worked vintage, it’s a return to familiar ground. It’s now part of the NeuronsVR therapy library, available to aged care homes across Australia and New Zealand.
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Part of everyday care
Lifestyle Manager Belinda Treloar and her team use NeuronsVR therapy as part of a wider person-centred program, not as a standalone activity. The physical spaces and the VR therapy programs work together: one sparks a memory, the other carries it further.
Why it matters
Success here is measured in moments. A resident talking about working vintage after years of saying little. A workshop that turns into stories of apprenticeships and careers. Family members hearing memories they thought were lost.
Care should reflect a person’s whole life, not just their diagnosis. That’s the idea behind this partnership, and it’s why NeuronsVR keeps building content with the communities it serves.
