Thank You
OUR GENEROUS GRANTORS
The iPads were made possible through the Napa/Solano Area Agency on Aging’s Digital Connections grant and the Claris Tablets through Napa County’s Health & Human Services’ Access to Technology grant.
OUR INCREDIBLE PARTNERS
Disability Services & Legal Center, Fair Housing Napa Valley, Information & Assistance, Mentis, Molly’s Angels, Napa County Health and Human Services – Comprehensive Services for Older Adults, Napa County Library, Napa/Solano Area Agency on Aging, Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation, Providence CARE Network, Rianda House, UpValley Family Centers.
In July, the Foundation was awarded two technology-based grants to address the digital gap for older adults in our community.
To distribute 450 iPads and 143 Claris Tablets we partnered with our local, nonprofit partners to help identify individuals with the greatest need, who would benefit most from receiving a device.
The goal—to reduce isolation by connecting older adults through technology with friends and family, health care providers, and to expand their ability to find healthy foods, perform meaningful work, and learn new skills. Each device came with setup assistance, several months of free broadband, and information to get further help through the Napa County Library.
Here are some examples of the impact the technology made:
• Deborah, 66 years old, of American Canyon lives alone with her tiny dog. Earlier this year, she took a hard fall and was getting physical therapy, but according to her physical therapist, she wasn’t getting stronger and was still at great risk of falling and injuring herself further. Upon visiting her, our Information & Assistance social worker Karen Lustig, also discovered that she couldn’t read her phone because her eyesight had also declined. While Kaiser offered online fall prevention classes, she didn’t have any way to access them. She was so grateful to receive the free iPad and is ready to use the library or a volunteer over at Molly’s Angel’s to help set it up for her. She repeated that having a larger screen will allow her to access her doctors more in virtual appointments, as well as attend the classes she wants to in order to “learn how to fall” so she won’t get hurt! She also hopes to join online classes for fun, too.
• A woman with dementia who lives in a care facility learned how to use the iPad to contact her daughters through video calling so she could feel more closely connected to them.
• A man who has been disabled since receiving a kidney transplant couldn’t afford a smartphone and found technology too challenging is now a proud tablet owner, committed to learning how to make video calls.
• An 80-year-old whose eyesight is declining, finds the big iPad screen very useful and helps him watch his beloved prayer videos, and he can talk to his family with ease.
• A woman without transportation, in need of surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, was able to use her iPad for a telehealth appointment with a UCSF surgeon. By using the iPad’s video, the surgeon was able to observe her movement and physical features to establish that she was strong enough for surgery.