UMCP Employs Virtual Dementia Tour® for Insight to Better Patient Care
June 6, 2017
Your assignment is straightforward: Enter the door in front of you and complete a series of relatively simple tasks.
But there is a hitch. Before entering the room, you are outfitted in a way that is designed to maximize distractions and undermine virtually every one of your senses.
Suddenly, your straightforward assignment may not prove to be so simple.
This humbling and enlightening exercise is called the Virtual Dementia Tour®, or VDT, a training simulation developed by Second Wind Dreams® to help caregivers gain a better understanding of the cognitive challenges faced by people with dementia.
At University Medical Center of Princeton (UMCP), nearly 100 staff members have experienced the VDT simulation so far, and training sessions will be offered monthly through the rest of the year.
The VDT is mandatory for staff of UMCP’s Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit, which is specially designed and equipped to care for acutely ill seniors who are frail and at greater risk of falls and other health concerns, said Nurse Manager Daphne Berei.
In other UMCP units, and throughout Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), the VDT is available on a voluntary basis. Staff members from the Emergency Department, various nursing units and PHCS administration have all participated.
“The training is important for our staff in the ACE Unit because many of our patients have some form of dementia,” Berei said. “Other units throughout the hospital care for seniors, so it would be valuable for their staff as well.”
Nationwide, approximately 10 percent of adults 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. As our population continues to age, the number of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is expected to increase significantly.
UMCP decided to offer the VDT after Allison Healy, RN, Senior Care Coordinator, and Andy Aupperle, Nursing Assistant, learned about it during a conference sponsored by NICHE—Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders—an international program promoting patient-centered care for older adults. UMCP is one of only 99 hospitals in North America to earn NICHE designation as an Exemplar Hospital in recognition of its high-level dedication to geriatric care.
Healy and Aupperle received training as facilitators so that they could provide the VDT to PHCS employees. The tour—which takes approximately 10 minutes—is provided as part of an hour-long educational course on the effects of dementia.
“The Virtual Dementia Tour® has affected me not only professionally but personally as well,” Healy said. “I now have personal insight into how individuals with dementia experience our everyday world, and I can empathize with how discouraged they may be feeling. I truly believe this experience has made me a better nurse and an even better nurse educator.”
The VDT training is supported by the Arnold H. & Katherine M. Snider Geriatric Endowment Fund, a generous gift dedicated to promoting exceptional geriatric care throughout PHCS.
In addition to the 24-bed ACE Unit—which was one of the first such units in New Jersey—UMCP also maintains a specialized area within the Emergency Department to better serve older patients.
About Princeton HealthCare System
Princeton HealthCare System is a comprehensive, integrated healthcare system that strives to anticipate and serve the lifelong needs of central New Jersey residents, including acute care hospital services through University Medical Center of Princeton, behavioral healthcare through Princeton House Behavioral Health, rehabilitation, home care, hospice care, ambulatory surgery, a primary and specialty medical practice, and fitness and wellness services. For more information, visit www.princetonhcs.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andy Williams, 609-252-8785
anwilliams@princetonhcs.org
But there is a hitch. Before entering the room, you are outfitted in a way that is designed to maximize distractions and undermine virtually every one of your senses.
Suddenly, your straightforward assignment may not prove to be so simple.
This humbling and enlightening exercise is called the Virtual Dementia Tour®, or VDT, a training simulation developed by Second Wind Dreams® to help caregivers gain a better understanding of the cognitive challenges faced by people with dementia.
At University Medical Center of Princeton (UMCP), nearly 100 staff members have experienced the VDT simulation so far, and training sessions will be offered monthly through the rest of the year.
The VDT is mandatory for staff of UMCP’s Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit, which is specially designed and equipped to care for acutely ill seniors who are frail and at greater risk of falls and other health concerns, said Nurse Manager Daphne Berei.
In other UMCP units, and throughout Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS), the VDT is available on a voluntary basis. Staff members from the Emergency Department, various nursing units and PHCS administration have all participated.
“The training is important for our staff in the ACE Unit because many of our patients have some form of dementia,” Berei said. “Other units throughout the hospital care for seniors, so it would be valuable for their staff as well.”
Nationwide, approximately 10 percent of adults 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. As our population continues to age, the number of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is expected to increase significantly.
UMCP decided to offer the VDT after Allison Healy, RN, Senior Care Coordinator, and Andy Aupperle, Nursing Assistant, learned about it during a conference sponsored by NICHE—Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders—an international program promoting patient-centered care for older adults. UMCP is one of only 99 hospitals in North America to earn NICHE designation as an Exemplar Hospital in recognition of its high-level dedication to geriatric care.
Healy and Aupperle received training as facilitators so that they could provide the VDT to PHCS employees. The tour—which takes approximately 10 minutes—is provided as part of an hour-long educational course on the effects of dementia.
“The Virtual Dementia Tour® has affected me not only professionally but personally as well,” Healy said. “I now have personal insight into how individuals with dementia experience our everyday world, and I can empathize with how discouraged they may be feeling. I truly believe this experience has made me a better nurse and an even better nurse educator.”
The VDT training is supported by the Arnold H. & Katherine M. Snider Geriatric Endowment Fund, a generous gift dedicated to promoting exceptional geriatric care throughout PHCS.
In addition to the 24-bed ACE Unit—which was one of the first such units in New Jersey—UMCP also maintains a specialized area within the Emergency Department to better serve older patients.
About Princeton HealthCare System
Princeton HealthCare System is a comprehensive, integrated healthcare system that strives to anticipate and serve the lifelong needs of central New Jersey residents, including acute care hospital services through University Medical Center of Princeton, behavioral healthcare through Princeton House Behavioral Health, rehabilitation, home care, hospice care, ambulatory surgery, a primary and specialty medical practice, and fitness and wellness services. For more information, visit www.princetonhcs.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andy Williams, 609-252-8785
anwilliams@princetonhcs.org
