Connect Against COVID
spreading love, not the virus
Our goal is to gather used but functioning tech, such as old iPhones, to donate to those most affected by the coronavirus. We have partnered with hospitals and assisted care facilities across the Greater Boston area, as well as the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, to connect people to their loved ones and support those who are in desperate need of telemedicine visits.
Why do patients need these?
When a patient is hospitalized in isolation, they often do not have any personal belongings such as their smartphone or tablet with them. However, donated devices will be sterilized by the hospital and placed in each room for patients to use safely. One of the biggest problems COVID-19 patients face is the immense isolation and loneliness they feel. Additionally, people in nursing homes and assisted living facilities generally do not have a FaceTime-enabled device with them even though they will be in extreme isolation for the longest amount of time. Each day, these people have limited contact with the outside world and desperately wish to connect with their loved ones.
Together, we can help them.
TESTIMONIALS
“We have so many elderly patients who barely own a flip phone, and a lot of staff are using their private phones to briefly FaceTime families of these COVID patients. It’s so scary on these wards that are sealed off, doors remain closed, little human interaction, and when there is brief human interaction, we are covered by multiple masks, face shields, eye wear, gowns. My introduction starts off with ‘Hi, I’m Cassandra, one of the Urology PAs on call, I’m sorry I can’t shake your hand, and I’m sorry my whole face is completely covered…’ It makes me so sad seeing patients in the ER and floors. These devices will make a difference.”
– Physician’s Assistant at Tufts and MelroseWakefield
“My husband is an ICU/CCRN working on the front line at a local hospital, and he knows full well about how lonely people are for their families. This is such an important thing you are doing. My husband has told me many times about the sadness he and other nurses and doctors go through when a patient cries out for family, and then passes away without being able to see them. It breaks the nurses’ hearts to know how much a family wants to see their loved one, only to be told a short time later that the loved one is gone. They never had one last chance to tell their loved one goodbye. That is why this program idea is so wonderful.”
– Anonymous
“You’re amazing for what you are doing. My grandmother is in a nursing home… I am so grateful for what you are doing. It’s horrible that we can’t see her, and I know everyone you help will be so grateful! The problem is so very real.”
– Anonymous
“I’ve been a nurse for almost 40 years… I see the nurses using their own phones to connect [patients] with their families. We have a few iPads in the hospital but not everyone has Apple products. Thank you for what you are doing!”
– Nurse at NSMC Salem Hospital
NEWS ARTICLES
Our Story
It all started when my mother, a physician in the Greater Boston area, received an email from a coworker asking if we had any old but functioning tech at home. My mom explained to me that patients suffering from COVID-19 in hospitals are completely isolated from their families and loved ones because they are often without their personal devices. Many on their deathbed are unable to spend their last few days with the people they love. But with your help, even one iPad can change that. During these scary times of quarantine and isolation, it is important to keep people connected. This is why I created Connect with COVID – together,
we can spread love, not the virus.
Connect Against COVID 