Central Peninsula Hospital | Pulse | Winter 2019

4 Central Peninsula Hospital V I R T UA L V I S I T S Bring the outdoors in Virtual Visits to Kenai Refuge The Oculus Go virtual reality goggles transport the participants to areas of the refuge. By Leah Eskelin, Visitor Services Park Ranger at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Over the fluffy fur and furrowed antler on an adjacent table, a circle of community elders sit together in the warmth of Heritage Place Long Term Care and reminisce about their past adventures. One woman shares her experience watching the northern lights with her mom, wrapped up in blankets under the dark Alaskan sky. Another guides us as we talk about her favorite local hiking trail, one that she frequented with her husband long ago. These stories, these connections to this special place—the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge—all came about as the residents participated in a new pro- gram called Virtual Refuge Visits. The program is a partnership between Central Peninsula Hospital and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It began in the fall of 2018 as an outreach program for residents of Heritage Place. Ranger Leah Eskelin brings tangible items like furs, nests and antlers to share with the residents and then transports the participants to a related area of the refuge via a series of 360 degree photographs viewed with Oculus Go virtual reality (VR) goggles. This particular program, for example, brought the boreal forest inside for the residents. They felt moose and wolverine furs, touched spruce needles and bird nests, and then explored Fuller Lakes Trail through the VR goggles. All of the most popular hiking trails in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge are available to view in this way. Ranger Leah is excited to bring more Virtual Visits to Heritage Place and to hope- fully expand the program to long-term patients at the hospital using a second VR headset recently purchased by the Central Peninsula Health Foundation.