A creative new room at a Long Island, NY, nursing home may serve as a model for improving the quality of life and care through non-pharmacological interventions for residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
The Immersion Room at Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center allows for expanded programming projected on walls and gives staff more opportunities to observe residents in a more relaxed, natural setting, the provider says.
“In addition to enhancing sensory stimulation opportunities for our residents, we’ve also seen success in reducing agitation, restlessness, wandering and anxiety, lessening the strain on all staff,” said Kathleen Biggs, a certified dementia specialist at Gurwin, a 460-bed skilled nursing and sub-acute rehabilitation facility.
The 13-by-13-foot room can fit a half a dozen people; Gurwin has hosted movie screenings and group exercise classes inside it. There is also an exterior room designed to promote relaxation and to reduce stimulation as soon as people exit. This second room can accommodate group activities such as meditations and discussions while the Immersion Room is occupied.
Gurwin worked with Besser Rooms, a Long Island company that designs specialty rooms using advanced technology to create stimulation, soothing, or therapeutic environments, to develop a special space within its 60-bed memory care unit. It has state-of-the-art projector technology, along with visually stimulating sights, sounds, and scents that can mitigate symptoms and surface memories that can help patients connect with their former lives.
Replicable idea
The staff continue to develop patient-centered programming that can be directed to residents who are alert and active but also for those who have more advanced symptoms.
“The Immersion Room has enhanced our programming abilities immensely, providing endless opportunities for a wide range of beneficial therapeutic experiences to our diverse population, whether it be a health and wellness program, cultural event, travel or a concert,” Biggs told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Tuesday. She added that Besser created customized experiences for the room, which is the first of its kind on Long Island.
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America awarded Gurwin a $25,000 Anne & Irving Brodsky Innovation Grant in 2021 to develop the Immersion Room. The funding, which is awarded annually to a nonprofit member organization, is aimed at seeding programs that will improve the lives of patients and residents with Alzheimer’s disease or related illnesses, and their families. Applicants must demonstrate creativity, need and the potential to replicate the project in other locations or areas.
“This sounds like a great enhancement for residents with dementia, which may do wonders for their quality of life and their interaction with their families,” Dana B. Mukamel, a professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at the University of California-Irvine, told McKnight’s Tuesday.
Last year, Mukamel was the lead author on a study published in Health Affairs that found that only nursing homes with 90% or more residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia or related diseases were providing high-quality care for those residents. The research suggested that more facilities needed to train staff to provide this kind of specialized care as the rate of individuals diagnosed with these diseases continues to grow.
Mukamel said the virtual reality experience described by Gurwin reminded her of “Star Trek” and noted that virtual experiences can be beneficial for reconnecting residents with their families.
“I hope,” she said, “that other nursing homes will be able to offer this technology to their residents.”
