Petaluma nonprofit equipping seniors with computer tablets to stay connected amid shutdown

The unused iPad sitting next to her own bed got Crista Barnett Nelson thinking about how many idled computer tablets lying around Sonoma County might be available to put to better use.

That realization and a shared concern about the loneliness confronted by seniors isolated under shelter-in-place orders led Nelson and the agency she leads, Petaluma-based Senior Advocacy Services, to begin collecting them for people in skilled nursing facilities and other elder care homes.

Visitors have been prohibited at long-term care facilities for more than a month now to stem the spread of coronavirus, with group meals and activities canceled. Such social isolation is a concern for emotional health, and research has demonstrated links as well to poor physical health and even an increased risk of mortality.

But a hand-me-down iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Kindle, properly equipped, can provide the face-to-face contact that makes a world of difference for healthy individuals and those feeling isolated to the point of despair.

“This is something tangible that can help,” said Nelson, who also serves as Sonoma County’s long-term care ombudsman.

The agency began soliciting used tablets about three weeks ago and has received more than 40 donations. Its new initiative, Project Tablet Turnover, has put out the call for more donations of used devices, as well as a private grant to cover about 160 new tablets, in addition to covers and extensions that would allow them to be attached to hospital beds.

The used devices have to be reset to factory settings, and then all eventually have a few games installed, along with YouTube and WhatsApp, a messaging system that allows for video calls without the need for a cellular service provider, enabling users to connect with loved ones via the internet.

Some of the tablets have been delivered to places like Vintage Post-Acute in Petaluma, which accepted four iPads in the first round of distribution to be part of a shared pool for family “visits” and remote doctors’ rounds, administrator Nate Sorensen said.

“It’s definitely made a huge difference,” he said.

The facility already had three, but with 99 patients looking to connect with loved ones and physicians offering remote care, it was clear after the shutdown that more devices were needed. It added four, allocating one to each nursing station, to help connect physicians with patients. Check-ins for families are now easier.

“We have a schedule where any family member can call in and sign up for a time to visit their loved ones, and our activities department facilitates that,” Sorensen said. “Some people are taking advantage of it daily, have a daily call set up.”

Another tablet went Tuesday to Guerneville resident Janet De Wald after her social worker learned of Project Tablet Turnover.

De Wald, 79, requires kidney dialysis and has a weakened immune system that requires her to be extra cautious about any potential exposure to the coronavirus. She also is a heart transplant recipient, and the only way she can keep appointments at this point is through remote connection.

But her old computer had failed and she was going to have to cancel several video appointments until her social worker intervened with the tablet. She also can now video-chat with family members in Iowa, including her kids.

“This is a wonderful, wonderful thing,” De Wald said.

For some nursing home residents, interaction with others may be limited to meal delivery and occasional care by masked workers eager to take care of business and make and exit to avoid unnecessary exposure, Nelson said.

Those dependent on Medi-Cal may not even have a phone, given rules that generally limit them to a monthly personal-needs allowance of $35, with the rest of their income going toward the cost of care, Nelson said.

“So how do you talk to your family?” she said.

Nelson has invited skilled nursing facilities around the area to identify about 10 residents each who would most benefit from some additional stimulation and opportunity to connect with loved ones via a digital device.

Sorensen said most of his residents have roommates, so they aren’t completely alone, and his activities staff works hard to visit each one for additional social interaction and perhaps to paint or color or watch a movie.

But he was excited to see certain individuals receive a tablet.

“It’s gonna be good,” he said.

Nelson said it’s not possible to fulfill every need, but “the more we get donated, the more we’ll be able to do that.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.