Calgary Health Trust – iPads

iPads for Virtual Program

Thanks to you, families and friends can connect with their loved ones when being at the bedside isn’t possible.

The connection that patients have with family and friends during a hospital stay plays an important role in whole-person healing. With the isolation requirements due to the nature of COVID-19, families are often unable to visit due to restrictions in hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Today, iPads are a way that more connections are being made! iPads were identified as a way to keep these connections happening.

In the past year, your support has helped to purchase over 177 iPads that have been provided to over 20 different locations. The result is over 3,018 virtual visits, totalling 245,254 minutes of visitation time! 

Here are just a few of the many moments you are helping make possible:

• Neonates seeing and hearing their parent’s soothing words when visitations aren’t possible;
• Celebrating and sharing milestones as a stroke patient takes their first few steps in recovery; stroke patient can walk again for the first time;
• Last moments together, and final goodbyes for end-of-life care for patients who have suffered a devastating illness or injury.

The Virtual Visitation Program is making even more impact. 

The iPads have also allowed for important programs to continue to impact patients. Some of these programs include:

• The Patient Experience Program has maintained peer connections for patients to navigate life after a significant health event. The program helps to enhance the care for stroke, brain and spinal cord injury patients at Foothills Medical Centre;
• Music Therapy, which is a proven therapeutic program, continued to meet virtually and offer the support of song by way of the Winter Solace which was a series of 45-minute concerts that ran in January and February;
• Residents at Carewest continued to attend recreation and leisure therapy programs, which impact residents’ mental well-being and overall quality of life, that would otherwise not be possible with the restrictions that COVID-19 has brought on.