FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UAB House Calls Launches XR Campus to Advance Immersive Training for Real-World Care

New virtual campus introduces VR and simulation-based education for outpatient nursing, home-based care, cold chain management, patient communication, and future multi-user clinical learning.

Birmingham, Ala. — July 1, 2026 — UAB House Calls today announced the launch of the UAB House Calls XR Campus, an immersive educational and training environment designed to help nurses, care teams, caregivers, and healthcare organizations prepare for the growing complexity of outpatient and home-based care.

As healthcare continues to move beyond hospital walls, nursing education must evolve to meet learners where care increasingly takes place in homes, communities, clinics, and remote settings. The UAB House Calls XR Campus uses Virtual Reality (VR), simulation, and interactive clinical learning to provide healthcare teams with a safe, repeatable, and measurable way to practice real-world care scenarios before entering the field.

The campus is designed to support clinical confidence, workforce readiness, communication with patients and caregivers, care transition preparation, home-based care training, and real-world workflow consistency.

“The future of care requires new ways to prepare nurses and clinical teams for the realities they face outside traditional hospital settings,” said Jacob Vaughn, RN, UAB House Calls. “The UAB House Calls XR Campus gives learners the opportunity to practice safely, build confidence, and strengthen the communication, judgment, and hands-on readiness needed to deliver high-quality care wherever patients are.”

Inaugural Program: Vaccine Cooler & Cold Chain Management VR Simulation

The first featured program on the XR Campus is the Vaccine Cooler & Cold Chain Management VR Simulation, an immersive training experience that helps clinicians safely store, prepare, transport, monitor, and document vaccine delivery in the field.

The program supports essential cold chain practices through interactive, scenario-based learning aligned with UAB House Calls protocols and manufacturer guidelines. Learners can practice key

steps in a controlled environment, strengthening consistency, compliance, documentation, and confidence before performing these workflows in real-world care settings.

“Cold chain management is a critical part of safe field-based vaccine delivery,” said Vaughn. “By moving this training into an immersive simulation environment, we can help learners repeat key steps, recognize risks, and build confidence before they are responsible for these workflows in home or community settings.”

Expanded XR Training Programs Coming Soon

The XR Campus will continue to expand with immersive programs focused on high-risk, high-impact outpatient and home-based care scenarios, including:

De-Escalating Difficult Encounters
A 15-minute immersive simulation that helps healthcare professionals respond safely, confidently, and compassionately when patients or caregivers become angry, frustrated, distressed, or verbally aggressive. The experience combines realistic clinical interaction, decision-based learning, performance scoring, and focused feedback.

Safe Bag Transport & Cross-Contamination Prevention
A simulation-based learning experience focused on clean/dirty separation, home-entry hygiene, equipment handling, and infection-prevention practices for home-based care settings.

Suprapubic Catheter Replacement
A procedural VR simulation that helps learners build confidence through step-by-step practice in a realistic clinical environment.

Live Multi-User Nursing Grand Rounds
A collaborative XR learning experience that enables nurses, educators, and interdisciplinary care teams to participate in real-time, case-based discussions across VR headsets, PCs, and mobile devices.

Built for Immersion, Access, and Impact

The UAB House Calls XR Campus is designed for flexible access across VR headsets, desktops, tablets, and mobile devices, supporting individual learning, team-based training, classroom deployment, and remote participation.

Each program is built to help learners practice safely, build confidence, improve communication, and strengthen readiness for complex care encounters.

Practice safely. Build confidence. Deliver better care.

About UAB House Calls XR Campus

The UAB House Calls XR Campus is an immersive education, simulation, and connected learning environment designed to support outpatient and home-based healthcare delivery. Through VR, simulation, guided workflows, and interactive clinical experiences, the campus helps prepare nurses, caregivers, interdisciplinary teams, and healthcare organizations for the future of care beyond hospital walls.

Media Contact
Jacob G. Vaughn, MSN, RN, CNL
Director of Ambulatory Services
UAB At Home – House Calls

UAB John N. Whitaker Building, Suite 102
500 22nd Street South, Suite 102
Birmingham, AL 35233

Office: 205.930.8948
Work Cell: 205.644.0594
UAB House Calls Main Line: 205.930.6700
Fax: 205.996.3919

UABMedicine.org/HouseCalls