DULUTH, Minn., June 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Benedictine Health System, a nationally recognized, Catholic, non-profit senior living system announced today a partnership with MyndVR, the nation's leading provider of virtual reality solutions for senior care communities. Together, they will bring virtual reality therapy to seniors at Regina Senior Living, Hastings, Minn., and Madonna Meadows of Rochester, Minn.
"Benedictine is pleased to partner with MyndVR and bring cutting-edge virtual reality technology to our communities," said Jerry Carley, Benedictine president and CEO. "By embracing virtual reality, Benedictine can provide staff with innovative training to support compassionate, empathetic interactions with their residents as well as a resource for bringing holistic interventions to residents."
Guided by a mission that focuses on the well-being of the whole person – body, mind and spirit – Benedictine provides residents with a variety of holistic therapy options ranging from aromatherapy to the use of therapy dolls, to enhance and support the resident's standard medical care. Virtual reality therapy is the latest extension of that offering, and will provide residents with physical comfort, the ability to indulge their curiosity, engage their minds and travel beyond their physical limitations.
"It's not just entertainment," said Neal Buddensiek, M.D., Benedictine chief medical officer. "We think virtual reality has a therapeutic power. It provides a non-pharmacological source of comfort and pain reduction that can soothe, distract from and treat not only physical pain, but psychological pain and social isolation."
MyndVR brings happiness and wellness to seniors by providing immersive virtual reality experiences revolving around meaningful content with a purpose. Their research and results are showing that virtual reality can improve the quality of life and engagement for seniors, and they continue to create content and experiences that empower seniors to learn, grow and indulge their curiosity.
"Our goal is to lift the quality of life and the spirits of the senior citizens across the country," said Chris Brickler, co-founder and CEO of MyndVR. "We have the ability to bring in a super-engaging technology to these folks - more engaging than TV, more engaging than newspapers. This is a true immersive technology that provides joy and takes people out of the four walls of their existence."
The Benedictine contract with MyndVR will be implemented first with assisted living residents at Regina Senior Living and Madonna Meadows of Rochester. In addition to providing content, MyndVR comes with senior-friendly, MyndVR-branded Vive Focus headsets and a tablet so care partners can control the experience, as well as onsite and remote training and support.
About Benedictine Health System
Benedictine Health System is a nationally recognized, Catholic senior living system based in Duluth, Minn. For more than 30 years, Benedictine has provided a full spectrum of health and housing services to aging adults. Benedictine owns and manages skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living communities across the Upper Midwest and offers services in areas such as therapy, memory care, home health care, adult day care, and transitional care. Benedictine is sponsored by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth. Additional information can be found at http://www.bhshealth.org.
About MyndVR
MyndVR is a health and wellness company providing virtual reality solutions to senior living communities, home health care agencies and directly to older adult consumers. The company is intelligently curating a vast library of VR content and creating innovative genres of recreational, prescriptive and on-demand content. MyndVR offers a promising future of cognitive health and wellness for the dynamic aging population. MyndVR uses a compassionate approach and understands the best way to deliver the right content to adults 55-plus. Pilots have demonstrated the positive impacts on older adults.
MyndVR is committed to conducting clinical trials in order to measure the therapeutic effect of VR. These trials will also measure the health care outcomes, including cognitive, visual, emotional and physical effects on older adults. For more, visit http://www.myndvr.com.
SOURCE Benedictine Health System
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