Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, based in Palo Alto, Calif., implemented bedside virtual reality school lessons for hospitalized children who are too ill to attend its "Hospital School" program.
Hospital School has been offered to Lucile Packard patients since 1924, allowing them to keep up with their learning throughout their hospitalization. However, the hospital implemented the VR lessons for patients who are too ill or immunocompromised to learn alongside the other children in the in-person Hospital School, according to an Aug. 23 news release from Stanford Medicine.
The Stanford CHARIOT program, which stands for Childhood Anxiety Reduction through Innovation and Technology, launched the VR lessons through its immersive technology education program, allowing the children unable to attend Hospital School to learn with a VR headset offering various subjects and lessons. The program is a collaborative effort between the hospital and teachers who have been accredited by the Palo Alto Unified School District.
"Keeping up with school work and maintaining the everyday activity of going to school gives hospitalized kids a reassuring sense of routine," Faith Collins, educational technology coordinator of the CHARIOT program, said in the report. "Parents tell me a VR lesson is the first time they've seen their child smile in a long time."