Sensing a need
Sentara Williamsburg hospital earns certification as ‘sensory-inclusive’ center
Earlier this month at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, a 5-year-old patient with autism was refusing to have his blood pressure checked or let nurses place an IV in his arm for needed medications.
Then the hospital’s new mobile sensory unit arrived. The machine’s humming motor and long, liquid-filled cylinder, complete with bubbles and plastic fish, projected colorful lights onto the ceiling above the boy’s head.
“It turned the whole situation around,” chief nursing officer Donna Wilmoth said . “He was so fascinated that he stopped focusing on what was happening to him. His mother later told me it meant so much, because it told her they were welcome.”
This year, Sentara Williamsburg became the first hospital in Virginia to be certified as “sensory-inclusive” by KultureCity, an Alabama-based nonprofit that promotes better awareness and accessibility for people affected differently by noises, lights, crowds and/or smells.
Founded in 2013, KultureCity has recognized more than 1,800 businesses and organizations for meeting extensive criteria on training and resources for people with sensory needs. Local sites include the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach.
Along with the mobile unit, Sentara Williamsburg has: added two quiet sensory rooms where people can go to decompress; backpacks with soothing tools and toys for checkout at registration desks; and an annual education program for at least half of staff members who interact with patients.
“A lot of people don’t realize what these patients may go through,” noted Amy Lassiter, the hospital’s patient care services manager and head of the sensory-inclusion initiative. “If we can build that awareness, we can do things to help them before they get into an anxiety crisis.”
Sensory sensitivities are common in adults and children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, early-onset dementia, stroke and a range of other physical and mental health conditions.
At a hospital, triggers such as groups of strangers in waiting rooms, bright ceiling lights, beeping medical machines and overhead announcements can be overwhelming and even physically painful. People may become withdrawn, agitated, anxious, angry, noncompliant, averse to touch or unsteady on their feet.
Overall awareness of such “invisible disabilities” has grown in recent years, and medical facilities are joining efforts to help people feel and stay safe.
Riverside Doctors’ Hospital Williamsburg, for example, now offers “behavior health-friendly activities boxes” with calming activities for patients in its emergency room. Items include stress balls, fidget toys, PlayDoh and coloring pages.
“The goal is to facilitate cognitive and tactile stimulation, as well as give (patients) a resource for grounding and meditation techniques to use,” said Victoria Davis, the registered nurse clinical coordinator at the Doctors’ Hospital.
Sentara Williamsburg’s effort stretches back to 2021, as the hospital began planning to gain KultureCity certification.
Its new training curriculum covers how to recognize cases of sensory overload and properly respond to prevent a situation from escalating. Interest in the online course has been high among hospital providers and homehealth nurses, according to Wilmoth.
Bookbags purchased from KultureCity, which anyone can borrow during their time in the hospital, have noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys and cards with images of facial expressions to help them describe their emotions. Signage throughout the building alerts people to “headphone zones” that may be particularly loud or bustling.
Patients also can wear a lanyard to notify team members that they have sensory issues.
The hospital converted a former first-floor vending area and a second-floor physician workspace into private, darkened sensory rooms, decorated with wall puzzles and textured materials, soft beanbag chairs and colored-light panels.
The rooms are open to patients, family members, visitors and staff. Katherine Sheppard, a nurse at Sentara Williamsburg, took her 6-year-old son, Jonathan, there when he grew upset during an annual Easter egg hunt. Jonathan has ADHD with heightened sensitivity to noise and crowds.
After Wilmoth told him about a “special secret room” inside the hospital, Jonathan was soon happily staring at changing colors on a light board and sitting on a squishy chair that he said felt like a cloud. He since has asked to go back.
“It really distracted Johnny and calmed him down,” Sheppard said. “I think it’s going to be a big benefit for patients and parents whose children are at the hospital to have a place to go when they feel overwhelmed.”
Outside, the hospital has installed two bench swings where people can head to relax. Two more swings soon will go behind the building for staff members.
The next goal is to expand the certification initiative to Sentara Healthcare’s 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina. Wilmoth recently gave a presentation to a group of nurse executives throughout the health system.
Next month, Sentara Williamsburg also will host an open-house for local businesses, nonprofits and social services programs that often work with people with sensory needs, including The Arc of Greater Williamsburg, Child Development Resources and Bright Beginnings. “We want the community to know that we’re trying to help everyone to feel as comfortable as possible here,” Wilmoth said. “For people with sensory needs, we may just need to work with them a little differently.”