Given COVID-19, most medical practices have switched to a telehealth model where doctors connect with patients via video chat. Unfortunately, many elderly, low-income patients lack the camera-enabled devices necessary to attend these appointments. To help solve this problem, we collect old smartphones, tablets, and laptops for elderly patients so they can receive care for chronic conditions while avoiding the risk of infection. We also provide remote tech support and easy-to-use guides for how to set up devices, FaceTime, and various telehealth apps. We currently have a volunteer network of about 300+ students across the country and have donated 1860 devices and raised $80,000+.
Volunteers would coordinate with their state team to spread the word and seek device donations through social media, service organizations, news outlets, etc. Additionally, volunteers would help collect, reset, and sanitize the devices at their homes before sending them to their local clinic or VA. We also ask volunteers to participate in weekly meetings with their state team.
If students are interested in joining us, they can contact our volunteer coordinator Abe at abe.baker-butler@telehealthforseniors.org and mention that they found out about the program through me.