Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: October 24, 2024
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
FROM: Carrie Mathes, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., Manager II, Procurement Division
CONTACT: Roseann Harrington, Chief of Staff, County Mayor’s Office
PHONE: 407-836-7370
SUBJECT: Approval of Contract Y25-2403, Providing Virtual Reality Nature-Based Immersions to Mitigate Stress Reduction for Front-Line Employees, Federal Subrecipient Agreement
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval of Contract Y25-2403, Providing Virtual Reality Nature-Based Immersions to Mitigate Stress Reduction for Front-Line Employees, Federal Subrecipient Agreement, between Orange County and University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc., in the amount not-to-exceed $599,900 for a two-year term.
Further request Board authorization of delegation of authority to the Procurement Division Manager or designee to execute such Federal Subrecipient Agreement on a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management Division. ([County Mayor Innovation and Emerging Technologies Office] Procurement Division)
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PROCUREMENT:
This Subaward was issued from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (the “Recovery Fund” or “Federal Award”) allocation received by the County on May 18, 2021.
The project’s goal is to explore whether a stress management program delivered by virtual reality technologies decreases the emotional distress, improves physical symptoms, and enhances cognitive functioning for first responders and crisis assistance workers. Prior research reported that brief respites from stressful work environments can elevate mood and decrease cognitive load.
The subaward period of performance is upon contract execution through December 31, 2026.
FUNDING:
Funds are available in accounting line 5896-019-8632-3197. This procurement is federally funded through ARPA.
REMARKS:
In accordance with the Code of Ordinances, Part I, Chapter 17, Article III, Section 17-286 - Application and Exclusions, agreements between the Board and nonprofit organizations are excluded from competitive procurement requirements.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, sources of stress for frontline responders and social service professionals include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Additionally, frontline responders and social service professionals must cope with individuals who are often stressed or traumatized, may have long- standing psychiatric illnesses or are inebriated/high on illegal substances, making their ability to do their work even more challenging. In many instances, there are few opportunities to decompress by leaving the work environment, yet continuing to work in these environments can increase physiological stress as well as decrease cognitive functioning and emotional wellbeing. COVID has only shown us an increase in the stressful environments of these groups. These situations, paired with the limited ability to change daily environments, present a challenge for most frontline workers. Data suggest that 20 minutes in nature settings significantly lowers emotional stress, decreased hormonal stress levels, and improves cognitive functioning (e.g., Hunter et al., 2019). Mixed, immersive reality technologies can provide a stress management platform to transport these professionals to a calm and natural environment.
Orange County is recognized for its innovative and visionary approach to introduce technologies to enhance the quality of life of its citizens and visitors. The new Orange County’s Innovation Center (Innovation Center) is an integral part of this vision as a driver to address the digital divide in the County by providing a dedicated space that fosters creative thinking, experimentation and the development of new ideas, processes, and products. It is a collaborative environment where communities from different disciplines come together to brainstorm, prototype and test innovative concepts with the goal of problem solving or driving advancements in technology. The community consists of County operations, business/strategic partners and stakeholders, and community innovators.
This new space opens unique opportunities to support a strong innovation-led partnership between Orange County and the University of Central Florida (UCF), both being leaders in innovation and workforce development and having strong engagement and partnerships with the different County stakeholders: industry, government, and residents. This project provides an immersive de-escalating virtual environment simulator to enable a “walk through nature” immediately after a stressful event. This pilot program is expected to serve several hundred employees in three to four departments, including Fire Rescue, Corrections, and the 911 Center. It is expected that this program will be made available to all County departments.
Virtual Reality (VR) is most effective at immersing individuals in unrelated, natural settings, such as a beach or a beautiful mountain scape. This relaxation can be further heightened through scents and auditory engagement in a comforting space and/or position (i.e. prone or upright in a chair). To be effective, from a technological perspective, the VR experience must be delivered in a very simple, easy to access, and ready to use manner at whatever window of time and in whatever location each person is able to find in their chaotic schedule. Viewing technologies, such as a virtual “den” (vDen), will enable multiple viewers to simultaneously experience the environment and graphic renderings.
The vDen is of most interest for the County Departments deploy, based on prior demonstrations and system capabilities, and the ability to utilize the platform for advanced modeling, simulation, and training. The vDen will augment the existing County’s quiet room capabilities for Orange County facilities, such as Fire Rescue and Corrections.
UCF will provide two formats to experience the VR environment. The first technology will take advantage of VR headsets, such as the Oculus Quest 2 or the latest technology and can be easily used in any space both in standing position as well as sitting down or lying down. The users can decide when, where, and how many times a day they want to use the VR environment. The second format will be a workplace VR platform; it will use the vDen technology, a room- based space in which the walls and floors are projected in high-resolution 3D and users simply step into the room wearing 3D glasses like those used in movie theaters.
The vDen has a simple in and out access, without the need to wear and adjust any additional equipment. Because the virtual environment is all around, there is also the opportunity of entering the virtual world as a small group and share the experience simultaneously. UCF shall design the vDen to break down into manageable pieces that two people can lift. UCF shall design the vDen to fit within the existing celling heights of the department’s available rooms. UCF will perform site visits to review available room sizes and heights.
With two configurations to provide access to a VR relaxing experience while on the job, Orange County is positioned at the forefront of the applied research in mental health, because although the effectiveness of VR in mental health is being studied in several areas, such as PTSD and fears (e.g., Beidel et al., 2019, Wong Sarver er al., 2014). There are no studies on its effectiveness as an immediate, self-managed, on-site tool.
The UCF team will design a set of sessions in which Orange County first responders and crisis assistance workers will utilize VR to take breaks when encountering stressful situations to explore whether the VR stress management program decreases emotional distress and improves physical symptoms and cognitive functioning. The applications will have a simple, intuitive design to enable the participants to set up and launch the application, as well as to move and explore the space at their own pace.