Tech Tools for Long-Distance Caregiving - Part I

There's a new service from MyVISITA.com

that provides remote monitoring for seniors. They call you daily and talk for ~20 minutes. You can use SKYPE to videoonference. And they speak english and spanish. www.MyVISITA.com They're offering two weeks free if you live in Florida!

There's a new service available

for english AND spanish-speaking seniors. They contact you daily and talk for ~20 minutes by SKYPE. They can also talk by phone, but obviously videoconference by SKYPE is better and more friendly. Check out myvisita.com. They're offering two weeks free if you live in the Tampa area!

My family struggled with long distance

caregiving and my parents were totally intimidated by the thought of using a computer. Then we bought them the Telikin computer. It was designed with seniors in mind and has all of these features and more. Telikin touch screen computer has video chat, easy photosharing with the facebook application, interactive calendar, email and simple web browsing with quick links and so much more!!! My parents live 1000 miles away and they enjoy using this computer! It has made a great difference in our lives. They video chat with us and the grandkids every week! They use email and have started online shopping. This is helping bridge the 1000 mile gap!

I'm generally interested in technology

that helps people but even more, in how to stay in touch with my loved ones while 'long-distance.' ...though I hope to remedy that soon.

What a great idea for what I hope

will be a long series of articles on this topic! I also hope that some of the more creative senior centers and nursing homes read this also, and consider making things like Skype available to their residents who may not have the resources or technical familiarity to set these up themselves. It could make an incredible difference when situations separate people from those they love. Currently my Mom, 85 years old and starving for conversation about the news of the day, is stuck in a nursing home for a few months getting PT after a recent hip injury. How I wish I could 'skype' with her between our regular phone calls, but I'd need someone to help her set up things at her end. She's a very smart woman but never was interested in gadgets. We are using one small-tech item that has proved to be a God send. Before her injury, I set Mom up with a Jitterbug cell phone. This is not an ad for Jitterbug, but one big reason I went with that vs. a pay-as-you-go phone was because it's relatively easy to use and worse case, Mom can just hit zero and talk to one of their customer care people--who really do seem to care. Also, I'm able to input her phone numbers from my computer. And right now what I'm appreciating is the ability to change the plan instantly. For now, I've got her on an unlimited plan though normally we had the most basic plan. But for now, it's her life line--though I haven't talked Mom into using the Voicemail yet ;']. Anyway--please, keep these coming ! Cassie