The Harbor at Hickory Hill Team Members Participate in the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's Virtual Reality Experience

Prattville, Ala. (Sept. 2024) — As a premier memory care community, The Harbor at Hickory Hill is continuously seeking ways to provide the best care possible for their residents. A large part in ensuring quality care is through equipping team members with inspirational and educational training. This August, The Harbor team had the unique chance to participate in the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s virtual reality experience called “The Dementia Experience.”

Participants in the “The Dementia Experience” wear Oculus Go headsets to enter into the world of a person living with Alzheimer’s. The experience is designed to help give participants a better understanding of how memory loss can affect someone’s daily living. As memory loss begins to present differently in people, “The Dementia Experience” portrays the most common signs, such as forgetting tasks, hallucinations and a general blurriness or brain fog.

Team members at The Harbor were highly impacted by the experience, many saying that it opened their eyes to better understand the daily challenges that their residents may face. The experience accentuated why residents may need a little more patience and grace for tasks that may seem simple to everyone else.

“One of my favorite things about working in a memory care community is putting myself into the residents’ reality each day. There have been times when I have talked with a resident about how delicious the ‘cake on the table’ looks, when there is no food in sight. Some days a resident will call me their loved one’s name all day, and I won’t correct them; that is just my name for that resident that day. Memories may disappear, but the love in their hearts remain, and I think that is truly beautiful,” said Michelle Garrett, Life Enrichment Coordinator at The Harbor.

“If you or a loved one are struggling with the demands of living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, we are here to help! We are equipped with resources and services to make this season of life a time to thrive. Stop by our community or give us a call at (334) 361-5111. We’d love to meet you!” said Shelly Shaffer, Executive Director of The Harbor at Hickory Hill.