Recent News - Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America

01 Mar 2008

Nintendo Wii a hit at Presbyterian Manor

By Nancy D. Borst

Randy Reimer certainly never expected to become a video game addict. The long-time Newton area dairy farmer strictly milked cows and pitched hay.

Now he can add “bowler” to his résumé, thanks to the Nintendo Wii system at Presbyterian Manor of Newton, where Reimer is recovering from surgery. He admits being hesitant at first to try any video game, much less bowling.

“I’ve never bowled in my life,” he says, but tried at the urging of Matthew Bogner, healthcare administrator at the Manor. Bogner encouraged the Manor to get the game system after reading of its great success in retirement communities across the country.

“I knew we had to have one,” says Bogner, a sentiment shared by the Manor’s executive director, Shawn Sullivan. Bogner even brought his Wii to an advisory board meeting. It was an easy sell from there. “Everyone was very excited,” he says.

For Reimer, his twice-weekly virtual bowling games have become an “addiction” of sorts, and he now has a cheering section when he plays.

“Evidently, that’s what it seems like,” he says. “You must understand, there has to be a lot of coordination with that game. You have to be physically able to swing that control pretty well. I played it with Joe, [a physical therapy assistant]. I got a higher score than he did, and that just blew me away. I’m hooked now.”

Bogner said the game has done much more than just provide an alternative to watching television. It’s made the Manor a “hip” hangout for children and grandchildren. “They immediately engage in a way they didn’t before,” he says of younger visitors. “Younger people are so comfortable with the system already.”

The healthcare central living room already was a popular place on Fridays, when staff set up a Tiki hut, serve fruit smoothies, and play music by the Beach Boys. With the Wii gaming system, now it is often standing room only, as children and residents gather to play games.

Whether the game is bowling, golf, fishing or something else, the point is this: video gaming allows residents to continue to enjoy activities that have been important to them throughout their lives. It also gives them a connection to technology that is makes up an important part of their grandchildren’s lives.

Presbyterian Manor has long appreciated the value of bringing generations together. It has had an on-site preschool since 1992, and now, school-age children often come by in search of a video game partner.

“It’s fun to exercise a little with a video game, and I like to meet other people,” said 10-year-old Wyatt Dickinson when asked what he likes about playing the Wii at the Manor. He especially enjoys challenging Reimer to a bowling match. “I found a new friend,” said Dickinson. “He’s fun to play with.”

Elementary school students and staff are working together to teach each other how to play the various games. The system has become so popular that Bogner says the Manor already plans to purchase another system.

Reimer, who will return to his farm in a few weeks, says he’ll miss his new hobby, but he already knows that he will return to the Manor in April after knee surgery for his rehabilitation – and video games.

“I look forward to that part,” he said. “It’s been nice. That’s the best therapy.”

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