Pennsylvania Deploys Healium Across All Six State Veterans Homes

Residents at all six Pennsylvania state veterans homes can now watch their own stress response on a screen — and watch it settle.

COLUMBIA, MO, UNITED STATES, September 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Bureau of Veterans Homes, has deployed Healium Clinical across every home in its system, following a competitive state solicitation. Healium Clinical is an FDA-registered Class II 510(k)-exempt biofeedback system. The Healium platform is now in use at homes in Erie, Pittsburgh, Duncansville, Philadelphia, Spring City and Scranton, PA.

Ask anyone who works a long-term care floor what happens mid-afternoon. A resident gets restless. The options have always been thin — a television, a walk down the hallway, a call to nursing. What almost never appears on that list is something the resident can do for themselves.

Healium gives staff something else to reach for. A resident puts on VR goggles and enters a quiet place built for exactly this: a waterfall, an ocean, a slow field of light. A guided breathpacer sets the rhythm, so the resident isn’t only watching something calm — they’re practicing something. Sessions can run as little as four minutes. No medication. No needle.

“Some of these men and women are in their nineties. They’ve been told to relax their whole lives, and nobody ever showed them what relaxing actually looks like inside their own bodies. Pennsylvania just gave them that. Healthcare has spent decades asking people how they feel — this is six more buildings where we can finally show them.”
— Sarah Hill, CEO and Co-Founder, Healium

Healium’s customer success team trained staff at each home, site by site, so the technology sits with the people who already know these residents. Content is pre-downloaded to the goggles and runs without an internet connection — a practical requirement in older buildings where wireless coverage is uneven.

Pennsylvania’s system serves veterans of every era, many of them frail and most well past the age when travel or new technology comes easily. Healium is not a replacement for the clinical care those residents receive. It’s a drugless tool their care teams can reach for first.

Healium’s platform has been evaluated in multiple peer-reviewed journals. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that a four-minute Healium experience reduced anxiety, as measured by quantitative EEG. Research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found significant reductions in anxiety using Healium before cardiac surgery.

“Introducing virtual reality into our long-term care facilities represents an important step forward in enhancing the quality of life for our residents,” said Barry Lowen, Director, Bureau of State Veterans Homes for The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “These immersive systems give our residents new ways to practice mindful exercises that promote relaxation, reduce stress, and support a peaceful mind. We are proud to bring innovative tools like this into our homes, honoring those who served by helping them find comfort, calm, and connection each day.”

Pennsylvania is one of the first state veterans home systems to standardize on Healium across every facility. There are roughly 160 state veterans homes across the country, most of them caring for the same population with the same constraint: more residents than staff, and no objective way to see who is settling and who isn’t.

About Healium
Healium is a digital health and mental wellness solution that combines virtual reality with biofeedback and neurofeedback to help patients self-manage stress, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and pain as part of a healthy lifestyle. Evaluated in multiple peer-reviewed journals (tryhealium.com/science) and used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), federal agencies, behavioral health clinics, and pain clinics worldwide, Healium offers clinicians a non-pharmacological, HIPAA compliant, measurable approach to help patients self-regulate their nervous system in as little as four minutes. While Healium is FDA-registered, it is not diagnostic and is not intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical condition. Healium is available through Lovell Government Services, a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Learn more at www.tryhealium.com.

Lydia Melton
Healium
lydia@tryhealium.com
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