ACC Foundation Grant Supports Virtual Dementia Simulation

One of the most important ways for healthcare employees to better serve their patients is by walking in their shoes.
Alvin Community College Nursing instructor Linley Glover hopes to do that with a simulation that will help students experience the debilitating effects of dementia.
“It will allow someone to experience what dementia is like,” she said. “It increases empathy and allows them to better understand the condition.”
Glover received a $3,000 grant to help create a virtual dementia tour to assist students, staff and members of the community understand how the condition impacts patients.
The grant was awarded through the ACC Foundation’s Innovative Initiative program which is designed to encourage, facilitate, recognize and reward innovative and creative approaches to fulfill the mission of the college. The grants will be used for the 2025-26 academic year.
The funding will pay for the equipment necessary to simulate the condition of dementia using goggles, gloves, shoe inserts and other implements that represent the impairments of a patient. The simulation then requires the completion of five separate tasks in eight minutes, she said.
“You realize once you are in there that you can’t remember the task,” she said. “It’s as close as it can get for someone to experience what dementia is like.”
While the program will be used by Allied Health students at ACC starting in the Fall, Glover said she hopes to open it up to all students and the community as the number of dementia cases continue to grow in the United States.
“This program should be used by everyone,” she said. “The likelihood of encountering someone with dementia is increasing.”
To learn more about the program check out the podcast interview at www.alvincollege.edu/news/podcast.html or wherever you get podcasts.