Local specialty hospital offers staff empathy training
February 01, 2018
Staff members virtually experience what it is like to live with dementia
“How do you feel?” asked Nicole Kiseli, an occupational therapist on Carrier Clinic®’s Older Adult Unit.
“Like I was going to cry,” said the Carrier Clinic staff member. “I can’t believe people live like that.”
“You were wandering, looking around, mumbling to yourself, and rummaging through items as though you were trying to find something in the room that had purpose for you to do,” said Kiseli. “These are all behaviors that are associated with dementia.”
This January, Kiseli, along with colleagues Kristin Carr, lead group counselor and certified Grief Recovery Specialist on Carrier Clinic’s Older Adult Unit, and Susan Leight, the director of Carrier Clinic’s Older Adult Unit, invited Carrier Clinic staff members to go through The Virtual Dementia Tour®, designed to give participants an up-close, hands-on experience that provides critical insight into dementia. The Virtual Dementia Tour includes different components that affect each part of the brain that is impacted by dementia: frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, limbic system, and cerebral cortex.
During The Virtual Dementia Tour, participants wear dark glasses that remove peripheral vision, headphones that play distracting sounds, and thick gloves that make it difficult to get tactile information. Spiked inserts are placed in the participants’ shoes to simulate discomfort. Participants are led to a poorly lit room and are given a list of tasks to complete. Once the experience is over, they are guided out of the room and all of the equipment is removed. They then discuss the experience with Kiseli and Carr, who are certified to facilitate The Virtual Dementia Tour.
“The Virtual Dementia Tour is only eight minutes long, so we remind everyone that we get to take off the glasses, the gloves, the headphones…but a person living with dementia doesn’t,” said Carr. “Alzheimer’s (which is under the umbrella for types of dementia) is the sixth leading cause of death in NJ, and is as far as we know, unpreventable.”
“This is a sensitivity and empathy training that gives participants an opportunity to experience what it is like to live with dementia,” said Kiseli. “Our hope is that once our staff experiences The Virtual Dementia Tour, they have a better understanding of what our patients with dementia face, and that as a result, compassionate care continues to be a priority in our hospital.”
One of the largest independent, nonprofit behavioral health centers in New Jersey, Carrier Clinic provides a complete array of expert care and education for adolescents and teens, adults, and older adults. Carrier Clinic’s Older Adult Unit offers care for adults age 60 and over, with a focus on the short-term evaluation and treatment of their unique psychiatric disorders, and the renewal of quality of life.
“Carrier Clinic is fortunate to have staff members like Sue, Nicole, and Kristin, whose compassion and desire to give our patients the best possible care is what brought The Virtual Dementia Tour to our campus,” said Carrier Clinic President & CEO Donald J. Parker. “The Virtual Dementia Tour allows caretakers to take a walk in another person’s shoes in a way that we haven’t been able to before. When a loved one is faced with the challenges and complications of dementia, you want them under the care of understanding, compassionate experts. We’re proud to offer that to our community.”
For more information about Carrier Clinic’s addiction and mental health services, visit the page below.
Addiction & Mental Health Programs
About Virtual Dementia Tour®
The Virtual Dementia Tour is a scientifically proven method of building a greater understanding of dementia through the use of patented sensory tools and instruction. The VDT® was created by P.K. Beville, Ph.D., an award-winning geriatric psychologist, dementia expert, and founder of Second Wind Dreams, Inc. Proceeds from the sale of Virtual Dementia Tour support the work of Second Wind Dreams®, an international, nonprofit organization recognized as the first in the nation committed to changing the perception of aging through the fulfillment of dreams for elders and the offering of innovative educational opportunities to caregivers, families, and communities. For more information about Second Wind Dreams and the Virtual Dementia Tour, please call the office at 678-624-0500 or visit online at www.secondwind.org.
About Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic
Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic is a nonprofit Central Jersey behavioral health care provider, specializing in psychiatric and addiction treatment. Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic includes an inpatient psychiatric hospital, detoxification and rehabilitation center, adolescent and teen residential facility, and a fully accredited middle and high school for students classified emotionally disturbed. For more information about Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic and its services contact us through our website or call 1-800-933-3579.
Press Contact
Phil Hartman
Public Relations Manager
908-281-1513
PHartman@carrierclinic.com