VA Immersive: Defining a New (VR) Reality in Healthcare

Bio: Dr. Anne Lord Bailey is Executive Director of the Strategic Initiatives Lab (“Strat Lab”) for VHA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL). Dr. Bailey started her healthcare career as a Pharmacy Practitioner and then Innovation Specialist for Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System in Asheville, NC. In 2021, she became OHIL’s lead for Immersive Technology, establishing VA Immersive as a collaborative portfolio across the office. She has worked with experts and thought leaders in government, academia, and industry.  Dr. Bailey and the VA Immersive team have led the expansion of the VHA XR Network to engage more than 2100 VA staff, now overseeing implementation efforts at more than 120 VA Medical Centers in 44 states. Dr. Bailey has received numerous awards including G2Xchange Change Agent, Service to the Citizen Award, International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association Hero Award, and Modern Healthcare Top 10 Innovator Organization.  In 2023, Dr. Bailey was also a Finalist for a Service to America Medal.

Bio: Caitlin Rawlins has been in the nursing profession for over twelve years, with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since 2017. In her first year of VA practice, she initiated the first positive distraction-focused virtual reality program for pain and anxiety management in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). She now aids in leading VHA innovation and immersive technology utilization as Deputy Director of Clinical Tech Innovation, co-lead of the VHA Extended Reality (XR) Network, and Program Manager for VA Immersive in the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning. She has supported the expansion of XR technology use from one facility to over 90% of VA Healthcare Systems and engagement of more than 2,100 VA employees through development of pilots, programs, and healthcare integration resources. Ms. Rawlins has been awarded the 2019 ANCC Pathway Award, 2022 G2Xchange Disruptive Tech Program Award, 2022 IVRHA Hero Award, and, along with other OHIL Immersive Tech team members, was a recipient of the 2022 Service to the Citizen Award, 2023 ACT-IAC Innovation Impact Award, 2023 FORUM Health IT Innovation Award, 2023 Modern Healthcare Top 10 Innovator Organization, and a 2023 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® Finalist for contributions to VA’s implementation of XR and development of the VHA XR Network.

Bio: Evan is a United States Marine Veteran and Recreational Therapist. Evan is co-founder of the first Adaptive Sports program at Indiana University. Evan began working at the VA in November 2019 working with inpatient Veterans while expanding programming for all Veterans. Evan has created numerous community partnerships and programs for Indianapolis including Equine Assisted Learning, E-sports, Veteran Camping Weekend, Adaptive Sports, Woodworking workshops, Virtual Reality and more. Evan led the implementation of Virtual Reality through Recreational Therapy at the Indianapolis VA and has been using VR for several years in clinical practice. In 2022 Evan began presenting with the VA Immersive team at VA’s and conferences across the country about the expansion, effects, and the adoption of XR within VA. Currently, he is detailed to serve as the VA Immersive Project Manager for the VA Immersive team.

Bio:

Walter Greenleaf is a neuroscientist and a medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With over three decades of research and development experience, Walter is considered a leading authority in the field of digital medicine and medical virtual reality technology.

Research Focus: Walter’s current research focus is on developing computer-supported clinical products, with a specific emphasis on applying virtual reality and digital health technology to address difficult problems in behavioral and physical medicine such as Post-traumatic Stress, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Stroke, Addictions, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has served as the Principal Investigator for research projects funded by the NIH and by NASA.

Academic Positions: Walter is currently a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and the Director of Technology Strategy at the University of Colorado National Mental Health Innovation Center. He previously served as the Director of the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on age-related changes in cognition.

Corporate Management: Walter founded and served as CEO for Greenleaf Medical Systems, a medical product development company; InWorld Solutions, a company specializing in the therapeutic use of virtual worlds for behavioral health care; and Virtually Better, a company that develops virtual environments for the treatment of phobias, anxiety disorders, and PTSD. He is currently working with Interaxon as Chief Science Officer.

Current Board Positions: Walter serves on the Board of Directors for Brainstorm: The Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship; for Cognitive Leap, a company that develops mental health solutions for children; and for Sine Wave. Walter was Senior Vice President of Strategic & Corp. Affairs to MindMaze and founding Chief Science Officer for Pear Therapeutics, a pioneering company in SaMD (Software As Medical Device).

Advisory Board Positions: In addition to his research at Stanford University, Walter is the business, technology and neuroscience advisor to several medical product companies, investment groups, and accelerator / incubator programs.

Bio:

Angela McIntyre is the Executive Director of the Stanford Wearable Electronics (eWEAR) Initiative. She manages the eWEAR affiliates program and provides member companies opportunities to connect with research and events related to wearables at Stanford University. Before coming to Stanford, Angela was the lead analyst for industry research on wearables at Gartner. She advised companies bringing emerging wearable technology to market and was a frequent speaker at industry events. Her research included wearables as part of the Internet of Things, for artificial intelligence applications, for healthcare and as human-machine interfaces. Angela’s career in the tech industry also includes management of multi-company research programs at Intel and of R&D collaborations with semiconductor process equipment suppliers at Texas Instruments. Angela has an M.S. in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Management from MIT Sloan School and a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton.