July 31, 2024

By Ethan Geringer-Sameth

This article is from Crain’s New York Business Health Pulse.

A nursing home in Manhattan is rolling out a new virtual reality therapy tool to combat social isolation among seniors with the backing of Mets owner, Steven Cohen. Launching Wednesday at The New Jewish Home on the Upper West Side, its backers say the technology will be available at 60 facilities for seniors in New York and New Jersey in the coming months.


The system, dubbed the “Great American Elderverse,” will use virtual reality headsets to transport nursing home residents around the world through panoramic images and sounds, which its first users hope will have a positive impact on quality of life. The roll-out is backed by a $718,000 grant from The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to the CTA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Consumer Technology Association, according to Madeleine Rosen, a spokeswoman for the project.

Social isolation is one of the biggest issues facing seniors and can be a factor in driving them into nursing homes in the first place. Therapies that use sensory stimulation, like music, have been shown to have a positive impact on mood and behavior.

“This I see as, sort of, that on steroids. It’s multimodality, not just hearing,” said Dr. Jeffrey Farber, CEO of The New Jewish Home and associate professor at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. The six devices will be available to residents in its 514-bed skilled nursing facility and clients in its Adult Day Health Care program, Farber said. He intends to study the impacts of virtual reality on emotional and physical health and independence, which is currently mostly speculative.

This is not the first health care donation hedge-fund billionaire has made in recent months. In June, he and his wife gave $5 million to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies, which is seeking USDA approval for MDMA.

Internet connectivity for the project will be donated by AT&T and Netgear. Selective Rehabilitation helped develop some of the program’s clinical applications, like occupational and physical therapy.

Behind the new initiative is Dallas-based Mynd Immersive, which is one of several companies marketing virtual reality systems to seniors. Mynd Immersive’s virtual reality was the subject of a Stanford University study that found seniors using the technology largely felt positive about it and said it helped feelings of isolation, especially when their vision and hearing was intact. The company has raised about $5 million and is valued at $8 million as of 2021, according to the latest available data from research company PitchBook.

The headset-and-tablet system costs $595 according to Mynd Immersive’s website, plus a requisite subscription to its content library, where users can virtually visit the Eiffel Tour, chase butterflies, or attend a piano recital. Prominently featured on the company’s website is a “Premium Content” section that features only one item: a 22-minute film called “7 Miracles,” about the life of John the Apostle. The film, which shares an executive producer with The Passion of the Christ, is billed on Mynd’s website as a “senior-friendly, immersive adaptation of the Gospel of John to those who wish to deepen their connection with biblical scripture or simply experience the next generation of feature films.”

Mynd Immersive co-founder and CEO, Chris Brickler, said the company did not have a religious tilt and was dedicated to serving customers of all faiths.

“We are not a religious company at all, no, but we recognize that all of our customers across different faiths, these older adults are often getting closer to their transition and what comes with that is a thirst for, I guess, religious or spiritual content,” he said. “I refer to it more as ‘spiritual wellness’ versus religious content.”

“They created the most cinematic, spiritual content that we’ve ever seen,” he added, referring to 7 Miracles. Mynd has an exclusive license to distribute the film in North America, Brickler said.

Farber was not aware of the religious content before Crain’s asked him about it and reiterated the benefits he hopes virtual reality will have for seniors.

“That has nothing to do with our interest in moving this forward,” he said. “We’ve seen the work that it can do and just therapeutics in terms of calming environments.”

The New Jewish Home offers a range of health care services for older adults with locations in Manhattan, and the Bronx. Our at-home care solutions empower older adults to receive superior care from the comfort of home. Learn more about The New Jewish Home and see how we’ve been innovating health care for older adults since 1848.