A few years ago, Virtual Reality, (VR) conjured up images of science fiction, space suits, and holograms. Today, the reality is that businesses, including Home Care, are trying to maximize their business results by capitalizing on this technology.
In the case of Senior1Care, we’re improving the quality of care for our clients by using VR as an approach to training to expand the knowledge base of our caregivers. Over the past year, Senior1Care has been partnering with Embodied Labs in their South Bend, Elkhart and Indianapolis offices, to provide virtual reality training to their caregivers as part of their onboarding process.
For caregivers and families caring for aging relatives, Embodied Labs VR technology has unlocked a door to help better understand the complexities surrounding illnesses affecting our senior population. The training helps build the confidence and creates empathy, both skills a successful caregiver needs in order to care for a client.
For example, in one of the trainings, caregivers wear a special headset and earphones and become a 74-year-old man, Alfred, with macular degeneration and hearing loss. Alfred is at a doctor’s appointment. Through the headset, caregivers can look around the waiting room and see how macular degeneration distorts Alfred’s vision. They also can feel firsthand how frustrating it is as they struggle to hear and answer Alfred’s doctor’s questions.
Senior1Care feels it’s important for caregivers to have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the struggles their clients might be facing. Meanwhile, the caregivers enjoy the training as much as it adds perspective for their work.
“Almost every employee who has gone through this training has thanked us for giving them the experience.” says Kyle Bossung, President of Senior1Care.
These virtual trainings let caregivers see firsthand the challenges associated with Alzheimer’s disease, or social isolation. They even give caregivers perspective on how hearing and vision loss can mimic cognitive impairment. By having more knowledge and empathy towards their client’s conditions, caregivers can sharpen their skill sets which will only benefit the clients they serve.
The main objective in partnering with Embodied labs was to offer our caregivers a new innovative training model to help them improve their skill sets. VR training immerses you in the experience and offers a new perspective which benefits our caregivers and patients alike.
Senior1Care wants to lead the charge in creating new training models for our caregivers, and Embodied Labs is a step in the right direction.
