While visitor restrictions have eased at Hillcrest Nursing Home, valuable lessons have been learned over the past year because of the pandemic which will carry on into the future.

One hurdle staff at the McCook nursing home faced early on was how to connect the elderly residents to outside events and to maintain contact with visitors. That is where technology has come into play. 

With many events being live-streamed or families visiting over Zoom, Hillcrest staff saw an opportunity to connect nursing home residents to the outside world using updated televisions - or smart TVs.

Using $40,000 in grants from the Nebraska Community Foundation’s Connecting Elders with Family program, Hillcrest was able to install smart TVs in the residents’ rooms. While the new unites may look like a standard TV, a smart TV uses the internet to provide streaming video and services through the TV.

The funding for the new TVs came through a collaboration of sources. McCook Community Foundation Fund and the Hillcrest Nursing Home Foundation each provided $10,000 for a total of $20,000, which was then matched by the Connecting Elder with Family grant through the Nebraska Community Foundation. This meant $40,000 was available to purchase and install the smart TVs throughout the facility, bringing the residents closer to their family and friends via technology. 

“The world is going more and more digital,” Foster said. “With the new smart TVs, the residents can even access newspapers that are now online from the comfort of their room.” 

The smart TVs are also made possible because Hillcrest offers high-speed internet, which is needed for the technology. “Hillcrest is one of the few - if only - nursing homes to be a 1-gig facility,” Foster said.

Another bonus was standardizing the brand of TVs throughout the facility, which allows staff to better able to pinpoint and fix problems. Previously, residents brought their own individual TVs to the facility, meaning staff had to learn how to program or fix a variety of TVs. 

“The new TVs will make it much easier on the staff,” Foster said, “dealing with just one type of remote, one model of TV.”

The project may not have happened had the three entities not come to together to pool their resources. 

McCook Community Foundation Fund chairperson Cindy Huff said this project and the grants used to fund it demonstrate how working together can provide greater benefits for everyone.

“Through a collaboration between the Hillcrest Foundation, the McCook Community Foundation Fund, and the Nebraska Community Foundation and its affiliates, we were able to increase opportunities and positively impact each resident's life,” Huff said. “Hillcrest residents will be better connected with friends and family for years to come while also easily accessing personal entertainment.” 

Foster added that this project benefits not just McCook but the entire region because Hillcrest serves so many across Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas. 

“This collaboration is just a great example of multiple entities working together,” he said.

The Connecting Elders with Family program began just as the pandemic was forcing facilities such as nursing homes to close its doors to outside visitors and prohibit residents from venturing out. 

So in the spring of 2020, the Nebraska Community Foundation announced the Connecting Elders with Family funding opportunity, a collaboration between the Alice DeVoe Donor-Advised Fund—an affiliated fund of NCF—and another anonymous donor. The opportunity provides matching grants to NCF affiliated funds to connect and engage elders with family and friends, including electronic devices and complementary equipment. 

Even though the facilities such as nursing homes are now welcoming visitors, the new technology will continue to benefit the residents. The new TVs will allow residents who may not be capable of attending activities outside the nursing home to watch from the comfort of their rooms or visit with family members who don’t live near by, face to face via the TV screen. 

And the new TVs add to the quality of life at Hillcrest, opening up other opportunities for residents, who are thrilled by the new additions. 

Cathy Lubben said, “I think it is great! I have more channels, movies and still have my music!” 

The MCFF portion of the grant was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Andy and Geri Anderson’s Endowment Account. MCFF and the Hillcrest Foundation are both affiliated funds of the Nebraska Community Foundation.