Virtual Dementia Tour®: An Experience that Can Change Your Outlook

HUDSON, NC (January 29, 2020) — “I had no idea.” “Everyone on the planet needs to experience this!” “You are an active learner…you walk in the shoes of someone with dementia.” “My mom struggled with dementia for 12 years, but it wasn’t until I experienced the Virtual Dementia Tour^® that I truly understood what her world was like.”

These are just some of the quotes we’ve heard about the Virtual Dementia Tour^® (VDT), the original, ground-breaking, evidence-based, and scientifically proven method of building a greater understanding of dementia. The truth is that when dementia strikes, it strikes the whole community, not just the individual. Thanks to the VDT, health care professionals, family caregivers, business leaders, consumer advocates, first responders and educators are experiencing for themselves the physical and mental challenges facing people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

The VDT uses patented sensory tools and instruction based on research conducted by P.K. Beville, MS, a specialist in geriatrics and the founder of Second Wind Dreams^®. During a VDT experience, trained facilitators guide participants outfitted with patented devices that alter their senses while they try to complete common everyday tasks. The VDT enables caregivers to experience for themselves the physical and mental challenges those with dementia face, and use the experience to provide better person-centered care.

“The solution to Alzheimer’s disease today and in the foreseeable future is in developing a better and more personal understanding of the day-to-day challenges facing those with the disease,” says Beville. “The VDT program is the tool that makes that understanding possible.”

Caldwell Hospice recognized the need and created its dementia care program in 2011 to better serve patients with dementia and their families. “Dementia affects an increasing number of Caldwell Hospice patients and their families, not to mention others in our community,” says Martha Livingston, BSW, one of only five VDT Certified Trainers in North Carolina. “It is important that we educate and encourage caregivers, families, and friends so they don’t give up in frustration and desperation.”

Caldwell Hospice is excited to offer the following Virtual Dementia Tour^® opportunities to our community:

• Thursday, February 6, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 5, 2020, from 4 to 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 1, 2020, from 9 to 11 a.m.
• Tuesday, November 10, 2020, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Each event will be held at Caldwell Hospice’s McCreary Family Professional Center, 526 Pine Mountain Road, Hudson, NC.

The Virtual Dementia Tour is not appropriate for persons diagnosed with dementia.

Participants are led through the 45-minute experience in 10-minute intervals and only need to be present for their appointment time. Appointments are required and space is limited. To reserve your space or learn more about the Virtual Dementia Tour^®, please call 828.754.0101 or email prc@caldwellhospice.org.