Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Digital engagement provider iN2L this week launched enhanced tablets as a tool for family and telehealth connections during precautionary isolation measures taken by senior living communities.

The senior-friendly tablets come with video chat and other tools to bring families together during the COVID-19 pandemic — and afterward. With a simple tap on the iN2L tablet touchscreen, residents can “visit” with loved ones whenever they want. Residents simply initiate a video call to friends or family and can talk to up to seven people simultaneously in one session.

“Through the use of iN2L technology, our residents have been able to stay engaged and in touch with their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Shiela Johnson, director of clinical and education services for USA Healthcare in Alabama. “They enjoy getting to ‘visit’ their families, especially participating in virtual family gatherings.”

The state of Florida recently launched an initiative with the Alzheimer’s Association to put iN2L tablets into 150 senior living communities across the state.

And recreation therapists at Woodside Place in Pennsylvania also are using the new tablets for one-on-one programming ranging from trivia to worship.

In addition to connecting residents with their families and friends for virtual visits, the iN2L tablet’s video chat can be used to facilitate telehealth appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with recent allowances issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The tablet enables residents to keep scheduled appointments for primary care, specialist care, urgent care, mental health, nutrition and therapy as video visits in lieu of in-person visits.

The tablet’s ability to support synchronous video chat with up to eight parties at once means family members may be remotely invited to these telehealth appointments to enable more accurate patient history, description of symptoms, and accurate communication with the provider.

Outside of video chat, the tablet fosters resident-family connection by making it easy for family members to continuously share photos, videos and text messages from their own smartphones directly to the tablet. Residents have the personal photos, videos and messages at their fingertips, ensuring they never miss a special moment or memory.

Each tablet is preloaded with over 1,000 pieces of interactive content specifically designed and curated for older adults. Games, puzzles, movies, audiobooks and more are strategically selected for overall wellness.

“iN2L is dedicated to ensuring social connection and personalized engagement continue for senior living residents, despite the current pandemic,” said Lisa Taylor, iN2L CEO. “We recognize that this health crisis brings a heightened sense of urgency to communities that need to keep residents safe and healthy, while attending to their social, emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual needs.”