Helping Seniors go digital makes ROI sense and is becoming imperative

A session presented at the American Society on Aging Conference, "Aging in America 2012" in Washington, DC, yesterday by the President of the Alliance for Aging in Miami, Florida suggests that Technology will make seniors more empowered as citizens.

Max Rothman, JD, LLM and his organization the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. AAA is a nationwide network of State and local programs that help older people to plan and care for their life long needs.

Their AAA pilot program demonstrated how well seniors adapt to digital technology, under the right parameters and their program also showed that bridging the digital divide and helping seniors feel in control can be accomplished for relative low cost if done right.

Rothamn noted that “Helping seniors go digital is becoming more of an imperative” “Many government services, from Medicare to food stamps, now conduct much business online, and families are scattered, which makes maintaining regular contact more difficult”.

Instead of feeling isolated and helpless, as many seniors do, which impacts their mental state, cognitive abilities, and their quality of life, being wired means they can take charge of tasks themselves, helping them to feel in more control of their lives. As their mental state improves as a result, they start to love to talk to family regularly via Skype, and can access health information, and even join social networks.

 Funding through the Older Americans Act helped get the training initiative in senior centers and in some participant's homes off the ground. The agency developed partnerships with other social service organizations, non-profits, universities, and Internet service providers for low-cost or donated equipment, services, training, and case management. AT&T and Comcast  provided a year of free broadband service and tech support.

 Training was designed to include:

·       Various technical and literacy levels

·       Limited English proficiency

·       Educational barriers

·       Health and age-related issues such as poor vision or difficulty holding a mouse or using a keyboard due to arthritis, Parkinson's or other degenerative conditions

It became immediately apparent that the increased access to technology reduced feelings of isolation and increased their sense of independence.  In the 2.5 years since the pilot began, 730 seniors and caregivers have been trained by volunteers at a cost of approximately $455,000 which included hardware, software, broadband access, and related expenses. That works out to approximately $622/ person.

 The AAA organization is looking for more funding to expand the program throughout South Florida as a way to empower seniors in a cost effective way through digital technology.  Their ultimate goal is to wire entire communities, especially high rise public housing. They quoted one of the students, age 93, who termed it in the best way possible:  I love my computer because my family and friends are inside.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/322130#ixzz1qqhivmG0