Virtual Reality: Transforming Hospice Care for Seniors and Veterans

Alone in his room, a non-verbal Veteran named Frank was lying in his bed when Jessica Benson came to visit to test her then-company’s virtual reality (VR) video programming. His bed was placed on the floor to reduce the risk of falls and he was wrapped tightly in a quilt. Frank seemed to have been abandoned. No one had visited him for any of the six months of his stay. Benson gently placed a virtual reality headset on him and he watched for a few minutes.

Forgetting that she’d been told he didn’t speak when he was done, Benson thanked him for his service and asked him what branch he’d served in and he looked through his cataract-clouded eyes and replied gruffly, “Marines!” Benson said the hospice staff was so overcome with emotion at his first words that they had to leave the room.

When Frank died a couple of weeks later, Benson said that the thing the staff was most grateful for was that they were then able to hold an honor ceremony (a common part of veteran funerals) for him before he passed. Benson says this moment pulled her toward serving Veterans for the rest of her life. 

Benson’s former company was purchased by Mynd Immersive in 2020. She now serves as the Vice President of Hospice and Palliative Care and Veterans. She spoke with us to explain how VR is being used with Veterans, seniors, and other hospice patients. Benson says Mynd Immersive has focused on Veterans because though it is a narrow audience, it is also a large one with more than 18 million living Veterans in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center.

What is Virtual Reality and How it Helps

Virtual Reality, also known as VR, is a technology that typically uses headsets to make you feel immersed in a three-dimensional, virtual world. It is often used in gaming but can also be used in healthcare settings, like showing imagery of cold climates to patients in burn units. When viewing a 360 video in a VR headset, the user feels like they are immersed in the environment which appears to be all around them.

Visiting Paris, Memorials and Hometowns

Virtual reality is quickly becoming a vital tool in serving seniors and Veterans who have limited mobility, feel the effects of loneliness, and may be isolated and bored.

Mynd Immersive is in 75 state Veterans homes and 25 Veterans Administration community living centers, the largest private network of VR content and tools. The company provides VR headsets that allow Veterans and other hospice care patients the ability to visit hundreds of places from Paris to the monuments and memorial sites in Washington D.C. or to browse Google Maps and view their childhood homes. Mynd is also working in Native American communities and recently kicked off an initiative beginning with 60 senior communities on the East Coast called the “Great American Elderverse” which seeks to provide immersive opportunities across the country over the next two years.

Traveling Virtually to Vietnam

The company is also working on a three-year program called “Virtual Vietnam: A Path to Peace.” The program will use video from Vietnam to treat vets with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a therapeutic setting.

Positive VR Study Results

A groundbreaking study of virtual reality therapy by Stanford University reveals the opportunities ahead for treating the geriatric population. More than 90 percent of caregivers said they felt the technology was “moderately to extremely beneficial” in their relationship with their patients. 

A Little Fissure to Open Conversations

Mynd’s Benson says she hopes the experience that Veterans have prompts important conversations at life’s end. “When they take the headset off, they have conversations. After you’ve done VR, you can’t not talk about it. Now you are communicating. It’s just like this little fissure that you hope for in a hospice situation. There’s this tiny little crack and it’s open and now, (there is the opportunity to consider) ‘What do you want to let go of?’”

Sharing VR Experiences at Home

Santa Barbara resident Stephen Jones worked in hospice for 15 years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After leaving his work, a friend sent him a virtual reality headset and they learned to play virtual ping pong together while isolating at home. He realized after subsequently trying to teach an older neighbor how to use that technology, too, that there was a need for someone to help make the process more accessible to seniors.

That experience inspired Jones to launch his company “Visiting VR.” Visiting VR is for those people who live alone or with their families. While larger companies like Mynd provide VR for hospice and Veterans facilities, Jones visits seniors one-on-one, sharing 360º videos from around the world and close to home. 

Riding Horses Again

Jones says he saw the potential of this VR technology from the very beginning. “The very first time I got my hands on this device, I saw the potential. We were riding horses again. We’re sitting out under the stars. We’re letting the snow fall on our shoulders. As human beings, the gift isn’t in the VR. That is just a trick, a video. The real medicine is what it stirs in us.”

Jones says that so many are losing the chance to connect with the world because of a loss in mobility. “When we lose our mobility, we lose so many of our chances to connect with the world and to our story. I love that this technology is giving people an opportunity to reconnect with the world.”

Jones says family members report having their senior loved ones enjoy new experiences “changes the trajectory” of the end of their lives and helps get them talking about new things instead of focusing on their health problems and a loop of well-worn topics. Seniors who are homebound can only talk about what they are experiencing, which is often medical problems and television. But after watching 360 videos, they start sharing with their families about going on hot air balloon rides and swimming with dolphins. “We’re alive again,” Jones explained.

It also gives family caregivers a break when Jones spends time together with their loved one so they can go have coffee with a friend or pick up groceries.

VR as the Future of Nostalgia

Visiting VR’s Jones says virtual reality is the “future of nostalgia.” As a caregiver, I know that nostalgia is a powerful medicine,” Jones says. “The longer you have to live disconnected from the sources of your meaning, the less alive you feel. It’s just an unfortunate time where we’re able to keep people alive for so long past their ability to connect to the sources of their meaning,” he explained. “Human beings need more than food. They need to be nourished and nurtured,” he said. “This changes the game. I’m really optimistic that immersive technologies will give people a way of staying connected to that which is the most important to them.”

If you or your loved one served as a Veteran, you're likely entitled to certain funeral benefits. See our comprehensive guide to Veterans Burial Benefits and learn how to apply.