Nazareth Home staff stepping into elders’ shoes with person-centered virtual reality technology
Those of us who have not experienced memory loss can’t understand Alzheimer’s from the perspective of a person living with the disease. It’s also hard to comprehend the profundity of end-of-life circumstances without ever being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Yet caregivers, nurses and staff face these challenges each day. While always compassionate and caring, there has not been a way to truly put Nazareth Home staff in the shoes of the elder faced with these issues, until now.
Recently, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth awarded a ministry grant to Nazareth Home. This grant funded the purchase of an immersive training platform from Embodied Labs, a company offering virtual reality-based training for caregivers. The software allows Nazareth Home staff to gain insight into the body and mind of someone confronted with aging issues like cognitive decline such as Alzheimer’s or an elder faced with a terminal prognosis.
Through the platform’s virtual reality experiences, Nazareth Home caregivers are immersed in the elders' perspectives and conditions, helping them better understand the disease or circumstance. The Alzheimer’s training transports the staff into Beatriz’s life, a hypothetical middle-aged woman, as she advances through a decade of Alzheimer’s disease. The end-of-life training embodies Clay, a hypothetical 66-year-old veteran with stage IV terminal lung cancer, as he comes to terms with the reality of his diagnosis.
Through this training, Nazareth Home employees will learn what the elder is feeling and explore the physical, spiritual, and mental changes that may occur. This insight empowers the team to provide more effective and empathetic care. Knowing what to expect, how to relate, and how to respond allows staff to communicate more clearly, support more confidently and serve with a greater purpose. Real understanding isn’t just about knowing how to care in certain situations; it’s about feelings. Those feelings are what enhance empathy and compassion.
At Nazareth Home, the focus is to provide outstanding person-centered, innovative and compassionate care. We encompass a holistic approach in our healing ministry, which includes social, spiritual and physical wellness. The partnership with Embodied Labs will enhance Nazareth Home’s ministry by allowing staff to step into someone else's shoes and understand another person's experience.
Understanding aging adults' challenges through a first-person patient perspective builds upon Nazareth Home’s quality of care. With increased empathy, better emotional support will be provided to elders and their family members, bringing another layer of excellence to Nazareth Home’s person-centered approach.
For more information on person-centered care at Nazareth Home, contact us at 520-459-9681 or visit nazhome.org.
Nazareth Home
200 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
502-459-9681
Nazareth Clifton
2120 Payne Street
Louisville Kentucky 40206
502-895-9425