NEW BEDFORD – The Thomas H. and Catherine D. O’Neil Charitable Foundation Inc. is providing virtual reality technology to SouthCoast Health, to help its patients cope with pain and anxiety leading up to and during medical procedures, the foundation announced.
“Virtual reality pain mitigation will be a great tool for our providers and physicians to offer to our patients,” said Keith A. Hovan, president and CEO, Southcoast Health.
The donation was presented by the grandchildren of Thomas and Catherine O’Neil at St. Luke’s Hospital on the 76th anniversary of Boston’s Cocoanut Grove Fire. Thomas and Catherine were among the hundreds killed in the 1942 blaze.
The foundation helps patients with injuries, particularly burns.
The first such technology to be used at Southcoast Health, the VR equipment will first be used at the wound center at St. Luke’s Hospital, gradually expanding into other areas of the health system.
“The opportunity for our foundation to provide this technology to Southcoast has brought a lot of excitement versus a simple cash donation,” said Chris O’Neil, a grandson of Thomas and Catherine O’Neil. “We get a chance to be part of a new way of helping people.”
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
