GULFPORT, Miss.—Juanita Wallace has lived at Gulfport Care Center for six years. With several family members out of state, her phone helps her stay connected—but using it has not always been easy.
“I really appreciate (Gulf Coast Connection Services) because I really needed (help), because I sure did not know how to operate my phone,” Wallace said.
Wallace is one of the residents receiving help from Gulf Coast Connection Services. Founder Vanessa Welch helps residents make video calls, adjust accessibility settings and troubleshoot phones, tablets and computers.
Her company aims to help nursing home and assisted living residents overcome technology barriers that can leave devices unused and make it harder to communicate with relatives who cannot regularly visit.
Mississippi’s Digital Skills and Accessibility Plan identifies people 60 and older as one of several populations facing barriers to digital access. Among the challenges for older Mississippians, the plan identifies limited digital skills and cybersecurity knowledge and calls for expanded digital literacy training and technical support.
One-on-one Assistance
Welch meets with residents at Gulfport Care Center on Tuesdays and Fridays, working with groups and going room to room to reach those who cannot leave their beds.
Lisa Pardue, the center’s activity director, said the program provides one-on-one technology assistance that staff may not have time to offer.
“One-on-one, for that amount of time, it is pretty impossible for a CNA to take two hours, an hour with a resident to help them with things like that,” Pardue said. “That’s where Vanessa comes in.”
Welch developed the idea after volunteering at another local nursing home, where she saw residents struggling with isolation from their families.
She started Gulf Coast Connection Services in June and began reaching out to assisted living facilities. Gulfport Care Center joined the pilot in July.
Pardue, who has worked in nursing home activities for 26 years, said her experience during COVID-19 visitor restrictions drew her to Welch’s plan.
“We gave iPads any way we could during COVID, to keep them connected with their families,” Pardue said. “That’s why I was so on board with (Welch), because I saw what the video calls did during COVID, what they did for families.”
A 2023 systematic review published in JMIR Aging found video calls and other communication technologies were used in long-term care facilities during the pandemic to help residents maintain social connections and address isolation and loneliness.
Although pandemic-era visitor restrictions have ended, Pardue said residents with limited mobility can still experience isolation.
“Imagine that you cannot move. You can’t do anything for yourself,” Pardue said. “The only touch you get that day is from a CNA who is positioning you in a different way. You know, no hugs, no physical interaction with anyone besides care.”
Staying in Communication
Welch arranges video calls through Google Meet. When a resident requests a call, she contacts the family member, explains the service and schedules a time.
She also helps residents enlarge text, turn on closed captions and access games, digital books and audiobooks. She creates reference sheets for residents to use after lessons and teaches them to identify possible scams.
Linda LaHood, who lives at the center with her husband, Gerald, said she had learned previous phones on her own but struggled with her newest one.
“She’s helped us learn this phone like we had never been able to learn before,” LaHood said. “It’s complicated for older people because we don’t know how it all works.”
Welch said closed captions transformed one resident’s video calls with his sister. Because he has hearing loss, his sister normally used a whiteboard during FaceTime calls.
“I was able to turn on the closed captioning so he could read it as she was saying it, and they were able to just have a conversation,” Welch said.
For Lashona Lewis, the calls help close the distance between Texas and Gulfport, where her mother lives at the center.
“You get a free visit. You didn’t have to travel to do it. You don’t have to take off from work,” Lewis said. “It’s not to replace your in-person connection, but in the event that the person has a family dynamic where there’s not a lot of in-person visitors, this video visit is really important.”
Beyond the Pilot
Welch volunteers her time, and the facility, residents and families do not pay for the service. Donations help provide chargers, phone cases and educational materials.
Outside of her work at Gulfport Care Center, Gulf Coast Connection Services offers paid assistance to people living at home or in privately-owned assisted living facilities.
Welch initially planned to serve several nursing homes for two hours at a time. But her experience at Gulfport Care Center showed her that there was not enough time to answer questions and provide individual assistance.
For now, she is focusing on Gulfport Care Center while determining how to make the program sustainable. She hopes to expand to other nursing homes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and eventually make the service her full-time work.
For Wallace, learning to use her phone is about maintaining relationships with people who cannot always be in the same room.
“Communication is the most important thing with family,” Wallace said.
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
