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Hospice workers in Tampa experience what it feels like to live with dementia

By
Published  February 19, 2025 5:59pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Empath health hosts alzheimer's disease simulation

FOX 13's Kailey Tracy explains how the training simulation works.

The Brief

    • Tampa’s Empath Health Suncoast Hospice staff members received hands-on training to help them better understand what it feels like living with dementia.
    • Through glasses and headphones, the staff members saw and heard what people with dementia see and hear.
    • The staff, including the Director of Empath’s Community Engagement team, say the experience was eye-opening.

TAMPA, Fla. - Keosha Simmons says her father, who died in 2018, was a hard worker and an amazing man. 

Keosha Simmons with her father.

Keosha Simmons with her father.

"There are not enough things that I can say about him," Simmons said. "Very outgoing, a fun-loving guy." 

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"He did live with dementia. It was an early onset of dementia. He ended up with cancer, and it was a later stage when we found out about it, and that's when he came under the care of Empath Health Suncoast Hospice," Simmons said.

Dig deeper:

Simmons is now the Director of Empath’s Community Engagement team. 

On Wednesday, Simmons and her team did a different kind of training. 

It was a hands-on simulation to experience what someone with dementia feels. 

Empath Health Suncoast Hospice staff during the hands-on dementia training.

Empath Health Suncoast Hospice staff during the hands-on dementia training.

"It’s life-changing, and that’s what we want to be able to do, truly walk alongside what people are experiencing on a daily basis," Simmons said. 

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"The glasses [that they had them put on] felt very much as if, you know, we were wearing shaded goggles, and we had to wear gloves on our hands. That definitely limited our ability to touch and grab and even experience pulling a pill out of a bottle," Simmons said. "We had to put points in our shoes and think about the feeling and the sensory that may be uncomfortable for people that are living with dementia."

Glasses being put on an Empath Health Suncoast Hospice staff member to replicate the eye sight of a person with dementia.

Glasses put on an Empath Health Suncoast Hospice staff member to replicate the eyesight of a person with dementia. 

The team also put on headphones and were given everyday tasks to complete.

"We were unable to hear them. Things sound very jumbled in our minds. So, it was a very overwhelming experience," Simmons said. "It definitely was very eye-opening for us to know, and it will help us guide our conversations when we are in the community, talking to care partners in how to continue providing care for their loved ones."

What's next:

Gloves being put on the hand of a Empath Health Suncoast Hospice worker to replicate what a person with dementia feels in their hands.

Gloves put on the hand of an Empath Health Suncoast Hospice worker to replicate what a person with dementia feels.

Empath’s Community Partnership Specialists said the experience helps them better serve not only those with dementia but also their caregivers.

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"You’re able to offer them a better perspective than they would be able to see," Kelly Garrett, a community partnership specialist, said. "If somebody is able to go through this experience, I think that the frustration they might feel for a person not moving and doing what they need to be doing helps them be empathetic as well."

They hope to eventually offer immersive training to caregivers, too.

The Source: FOX 13's Kailey Tracy collected the information in this story.

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