I received this email yesterday. It contains some very valuable information so I thought I would post it here. Stay safe.
| As you are aware, this is quite a challenging time for our nation. Amid a pandemic that affects all of us, it is senior citizens and the disadvantaged that are most at risk of severe side-effects and even death. Our first duty as a nation is the protection of our citizens. Although governments and private citizens are doing as much as they can, there are particular areas for aid that may be overlooked in our pandemic response. One of these is access to telemedicine for senior citizens. A group of students at Yale University have founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit called Telehealth Access for Seniors and have asked me to lead their statewide efforts in Maine. We are partnering with VA Hospitals, assisted living facilities, and primary care providers all across the state, providing them with old/used electronic devices free of charge to provide telehealth services to senior citizens and low-income individuals so they can ensure all their medical needs are met without compromising social-distancing measures. Telemedicine will make it easier for senior citizens to report symptoms to their doctors faster, allowing them to receive more rapid treatment and reducing the risk of fatal complications. For more information, please check out our website at telehealthforseniors.org. In addition to Maine, we operate in 11 other states and the District of Columbia. Many of us in this community may have old devices at home that are not being used. If you have such a device capable of video chat (whether through FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, or other application) that you are willing to donate so we may send it to a VA Hospital or primary care provider, please fill out the device donation form or send me an email (or both!) Devices include iPhones, iPads, laptops, Android phones, and Android tablets. If you are able to donate, I will be in contact with you shortly to give you instructions on how to prepare your device. If you want to help out, but do not have a device at home, please consider donating to our GoFundMe page. We will use these funds to buy devices, as well as chargers for devices that do not come with them. We appreciate any amount you can give, and every dollar is used to provide devices to senior citizens. Finally, if you are unable to donate money or a device, please consider volunteering with us. If you are interested, just send me an email to that regard and I can get you started. Thank you for your time, and I hope to make a difference with all of you. It is up to us, in our own individual ways, to get through this pandemic, but by working together we can make a difference. Let’s change the world. Stay safe, Jay Philbrick |