Video Calls for Nursing Home Residents
My hip 80-something mother-in-law uses Skype’s free video calls to view the family as she talks with them over the computer. I’d like to see video calls in nursing homes, either via a video phone or over the Internet in the resident computer room (what, your facility doesn’t have a computer room yet?).
- Families could literally see how their loved ones are doing, relieving anxiety and contributing valuable information to the treatment team. (Who knows better than her family that Mother isn’t quite right today?)
- It would allow long-distance family members to participate more actively in the lives of their loved ones.
- A laptop could be put on a movable cart in a wifi hotspot nursing home to bring to the rooms of residents who are unable to get to the computer room, reducing isolation.
- It’s a great marketing tool for families and residents alike.