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Carrie-Ann Gamble, Wende Diemer and France Lambert (centre), who help residents to relax in St. Joseph s Manor s snoezelen room, display the room. Photo by Kevin McSheffrey
Residents of Elliot Lake's St. Joseph's Manor have the ultimate place to relax.
In July of 2009, St. Joseph's Manor installed a snoezelen room.
When a person hears of a snoezelen ("snooze-alin") room they might think of a place for a nap, but that is not quite the case. It is a room in which one can completely relax.
Snoezelen is a Dutch word that means to 'sniff' and 'doze.' The first snoezelen room was developed in the Netherlands in 1975. Its goal was to create a natural alternative to traditional medications resulting in therapeutic benefits, explains Carrie-Ann Gamble, a staff member at St. Joseph's Manor.
Gamble is one of three staff members at St. Joseph's Manor who assist residents in the snoezelen room. The other two are Wende Diemer and France Lambert.
A snoezelen room has been described as a place of relaxation, pleasure and pure enjoyment. Diemer says the residents know it by different names. Some refer to it as the "pretty lights room" while others call it the "relaxing room." It was designed to gently stimulate a person's senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell. People with sensory and learning disabilities can explore sensory experiences through the use of lighting effects, tactile surfaces, soothing music, relaxing oils and more. "It offers so many different areas of sensory," says Gamble. "It's multi-sensory stimulation," adds Diemer. Diemer says the room interests both the women and the men, but for different reasons.
The men are more interested in how it all works, she explains. The room is not huge, about 10 feet by 10 feet. At this size it is quite cozy. If it was much bigger it might lose part of its charm. The room is nice and warm, but not hot. It has two chairs, one is for gently massaging and the other for rocking. The rocking chair is different than most. Some rocking chairs rock on the floor and others glide back and forth. This chair remains fixed, but only the seat and backrest rock.
In the chair the person can cover herself/himself in with a weighted blanket. "When they're (residents) feeling anxious, they have that weighted blanket to give them a calm and secure (feeling)," says Gamble. "It's like being in a cocoon," adds Diemer. "They just cuddle up and feel good."
They also have a small pillow for residents to cuddle, which has a corduroy texture. The room has a stereo with which to listen to soothing music as well as more active tunes to help with relaxation.
For some residents, who are not very active including those with dementia-related illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, the room takes on a different dimension. For some it becomes an exciting room because they might like rock 'n' roll or country music.
There are a couple of large clear columns with gently changing pastel lighting as the bubbles slowly make their way to the top. The music might also include nature tranquil sounds such as birds chirping. A large mirror in the background adds to the ambiance by reflecting the gentle colours and rising bubbles, illuminating the room with a soft glow from the four-foot high tubular and rectangular columns.
One's sense of smell is stimulated with aromatherapy. On this occasion, the room had the relaxing odour of lavender and with a hint of chamomile. They have assorted aromas including many fruit smells. The aromas are gentle, not overpowering, and often put a smile on the user's face. "One gentleman that I brought in here had a stroke, and he doesn't communicate very well. When he came in here I put the blueberry smell under his nose," says Gamble. "He grabbed the cotton ball from me and rubbed it all over his face. He said he remembered picking blueberries, and he smiled."
There is also a carousel with slowly rotating images of various relaxing themes on the wall, such as a forested scene complete with wildlife such as elk. Other discs have birds, fish, a beach scene and the four seasons.
They can also tailor discs to the individual with images they would like, including personal photographs, says Gamble.
The manor's 63 residents, as well as the visitor in the respite room, get to use the snoezelen room. Because of the number of residents they each get an hour in the room every three weeks in either the morning, afternoon or evening sessions and as needed. It allows for a quite interlude. The residents get to use the snoezelen room for a one-hour session. They are accompanied only by one of the three snoezelen room staff.
Diemer says each person's program is different. Having more than one resident use the room at a time would not have the same tranquil effect. One person might like soft music while another enjoys faster tunes; or one person might like the red lights while it could make another resident anxious.
Improving moods
Gamble says what they do in the room is up to the residents. Some like to sit back and just relax, others like to talk and others like to listen to the music. "With one woman, we just hold hands and sing gospel music the entire time. That is her favourite thing to do, and she tells me the same four stories over and over again. But they're good stories, and they make her feel really happy.
"It's so amazing to see her light up. This lady doesn't participate in a lot of the big groups (in the residence), but in here one-to-one …, " says Gamble. She adds there is one man in the manor who didn't participate in anything. "He never came to programs, very rarely spoke, laughed or told stories. Now, when I bring him in here he talks my ear off. He now comes to some programs and even to some entertainment. "It's unbelievable the relationship building that happens in this room," says Gamble. Sometimes, the residents don't want to leave after their session, she says. Diemer adds that it also helps the residents to trust the staff.
The snoezelen room can be used for relaxation or as a treatment and stimulation. They also use the room to help a condition referred to as "sundowning." With sundowning, a person gets agitated in the afternoons from about 2 to 7 p.m., especially those with Alzheimer's, says Gamble. She says they might be looking for their children to come off of the bus, looking to go home after work or waiting for their spouse. "We're now trying to use the room as a preventative measure, getting them in here before they get upset."
Diemer adds that they try to get the person in before the point-of-no-return. Once they get past a certain point, they can remain agitated for hours. The only thing that will stop it then is sleep. "They get so agitated they don't know what's going on," says Diemer. But instead of giving them medication, if they get in the room before that point, they do calm down. "And it's a good communications room for those who are cognitively well," says Gamble.
They have made slight modifications and additions to the room. "We did extra things. We put the material on the ceiling and the butterflies, and we painted it. We tried to make it not so sterile, not such an institutionalized room. I think if we hadn't done that it wouldn't be the same. It makes it softer. "We worked together to make this room the best we could for the residents with what we had," says Diemer.
They said there are studies that show such rooms work. The room "It's all about their success, their needs, what they like, and hopefully it is a success," says Gamble. "And so far, with 63 residents, it's bang on."
Snoezelen price tag
The room is not cheap. Susan Clayton, St. Joseph's Manor administrator, says the price tag for the snoezelen room is about $20,000. Clayton says the money came from fundraising events and whenever they had funds left over in the recreation budget. When entertainers come to the manor some do not charge and that money went towards the snoezelen room. She too feels the snoezelen room works. Since its installation she says she noticed that the manor is more "peaceful."
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