Technology Helps Seniors in Georgian Triangle Stay in Touch with Loved Ones

Senior Technology  |  July 15, 2022

Helps Seniors Stay in Touch with Loved Ones | Today’s technology help gives independent-living seniors and their families and friends a growing array of easy, convenient ways to stay connected, across the country or across town.

Of course, there’s still the tried and true Canadian mail. Although it’s been stamped with the moniker “snail mail,” it’s still an easy, efficient, inexpensive way to send birthday cards, photographs, newspaper clippings and short notes to update family and friends.

Help Seniors Stay in Touch with Loved Ones: Communicate with family by email

However, today’s seniors are becoming more comfortable around computers and appreciate the immediacy of e-mail and the Internet.

According to Stats Canada, seniors are the fastest growing group of users of the Internet. Email was the most common use of the Internet by seniors with 9 in 10 Internet users taking advantage of it.

For those not yet at ease with going online, alternative technologies simplify computer functions to just the basics needed to exchange messages with loved ones.

Here are two examples:

• Celery – Without an Internet connection, this service (www.mycelery.com) turns any fax machine into an e-mail device. The fax machine, which shares a home’s single phone line, receives e-mail messages, including attachments such as photos, and automatically prints them in color. The senior can send out messages, including handwritten letters, just like a regular fax, but the messages go into the recipients’ e-mail inboxes.
• Hewlett-Packard TouchSmart. – This computer system includes a wireless keyboard and mouse, but it features a touch-sensitive monitor that simplifies operation for those less confident on conventional computers.

Still largely the domain of Generations X and Y, social networking on Internet sites, such as Facebook and TikTok, is increasingly becoming a cross-generational experience. More grandparents are logging on to keep up with their grandkids. Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is women over 55, with nearly 1.5 million active each month.

Use Telephones to Help Seniors Stay in Touch with Loved Ones

Of course, most everyone appreciates the instant convenience of two-way communication through landline and mobile telephones. With so many options to choose from—many with free minutes, free long distance and money-saving family plans—telephones can be an economical option. Some phones are designed especially for ease of use by seniors, with larger displays and keypads and other features.

SafetyChoice® by Comfort Keepers (www.comfortkeepers.com) offers a GPS Personal Location Device—the size of a cell phone—that offers peace of mind with state-of-the-art global tracking technology. It enables lost seniors to be located. And the unit includes a two-way communication feature allowing the senior to speak with SafetyChoice’s professionally trained staff, who immediately send help.

Video conferencing, which enables Jetsons-like two-way video and audio communication, is becoming easier to set up as more computers come equipped with speakers, microphones and Web cams. Through video conferencing, adult children can not only hear but also see how their parents are doing.

A variety of software facilitates online video conferencing, such as Skype (www.skype.com), which allows users to make free video and voice calls over the Internet as well as make discounted calls to landline and mobile phones.

Related Article: Loneliness and Isolation Can Affect Senior Health

Helping Seniors to Get Online

We’re not all tech savvy. And let’s face it, technology seems to change by the minute. But there are plenty of resources to call on to help you understand and set up the latest communications technology in your or your loved one’s home:

• Electronics stores—The larger chains offer installation and tech support for hire.
• Local organizations—Libraries and senior centers offer classes, from basic computer and Internet use to more detailed instruction on specific computer programs. Some organizations even offer volunteers who provide tech support.
• Family and friends—Seniors often find that their grandchildren, who have grown up on technology, are an excellent source of help. In minutes they’ll have your e-mail account set up and your cell phone ringing your favorite tune and loaded with all your contacts.

Comfort Keepers Georgian Triangle Can Help With Interactive Caregiving™

If you are concerned about the health and well-being of your aging loved ones we can help. Comfort Keepers®’s trained caregivers help provide senior clients with the highest quality of life possible to keep them happy and healthy at home. Our Interactive Caregiving™ provides a system of care that addresses safety, nutrition, mind, body, and activities of daily living (ADLs).

What’s more, our trained caregivers are selected with one specific quality in mind: empathy. Care that is empathetic is care that starts in the heart, and it allows us to meet our client’s exact needs. Learn more about our unique service offering Dementia Care and Palliative Care by contacting the Comfort Keepers Georgian Triangle office.

Comfort Keepers Georgian Triangle, is pleased to announce that we are a recipient of Accreditation Canada’s, Accreditation Primer Award. Accreditation is an intensive process in which an organization’s processes, policies, and procedures are examined by industry experts against a set of quality standards. To achieve accredited status, Comfort Keepers offices met or exceeded the rigorous standards for Home Care companies, as defined by Accreditation Canada. 

If you live in the Collingwood, Midland, Owen Sound area, contact Comfort Keepers at (705) 293-5553, or email us at georgiantriangle@comfortkeepers.ca. Comfort Keepers Georgian Triangle is here to help you and your loved ones get the best care possible.

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