Computers: not just for e-mail anymore! You might be surprised at what computer systems and Internet access can do for residents—and which ones can benefit

Nursing Homes, July, 2004 by Jack York

Our primary touch-screen vendor is Elo TouchSystems, because they have provided excellent reliability and support for our systems over the years.

Portable computers are extremely useful for facilities that want to extend computer/Internet access to residents with mobility problems. For those who aren't mobile enough to participate in group activities, for example, the computer system can be wheeled from room to room on a cart, thanks to improvements in wireless technology and the availability of notebook and tablet PCs. The tablet PCs have the added advantage of being touch-screen based.

The portability of these small, lightweight computers provides easy access to the Internet throughout a building. They can be placed on carts or on wheelchair-accessible tables, enabling all residents to enjoy their own unique Internet experiences. The flexibility of portable computer systems opens the door for a wide array of group and individual activities.

Computer-Based Activities

Most of the positive experiences we have observed with the use of adaptive computer systems have resulted from innovative activities programming by creative users in the field--usually activity directors--striving to improve residents' lives. They come up with more and more new ideas for activities that all their residents can enjoy.

One way to expand a computer system's uses for group activities is to install video connections that enable the system to be connected to a compatible big-screen TV (televisions built within the last two to three years should be compatible). For example, using the computer, Wheel of Fortune game software, and the big-screen TV, residents can play the game together instead of just passively watching it on television. Or residents can "visit" museums or other sites of interest around the world for a stimulating activity that they can lead themselves. Such a system can also be used for resident council meetings, to enable everyone attending to see the meeting's activities and watch slide presentations with text displayed in large letters on the screen.

Total Longterm Care in Denver (the Colorado PACE [Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly] provider) has set up a program called "Around the World in 80 Days," in which participants pick where they want to "travel" on a given day. A member of the activities staff goes online and sets up virtual tours of the selected locations. Having these tours on the big-screen TV allows everyone who wants to "go on the tour" to participate.

Sometimes it is the residents themselves who initiate new activities. At one facility, a man who had been a mail carrier throughout his working years started getting up early in morning and printing out Web pages of 15 hometown newspapers of fellow residents and delivering them each day. This empowered him and was a benefit to the others.

The variety of resident activities made possible by a well-designed computer system is almost limitless. All it really takes, besides the equipment, is a healthy imagination.