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.
McCook's last hometown bakery closed this past week, leaving a void not just for donuts but for connections.
Many organizations and businesses in McCook offer the opportunity to recycle, reuse and repair items that may just end up in the trash.
Organizer for Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival and former librarian named Oct 2025 volunteer of the month.
McCook's Third Thursdays were created to get businesses and organizations involved and designed to create life-long memories for the community.
Long-time community advocate Barb Ostrum received the Sept 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month award.
We need to celebrate our young people while they are here and encourage them to return.
While some like myself appreciate a rainy day, others dread them for a variety of reasons. We need to be empathetic as interact with others.
MCFF Fall Grant Deadline is Oct. 1. Complete list of former recipients on MCFF website
With so much going, it is time for a “This, That and the Other Thing” column, where we will cover several topics, not very deeply but hopefully with a sense of humor as we clean up and prepare for a busy week in McCook. *** McCook again made state and national news this week for ice. This time, it was in the form of hail that pounded the community for hours upon hours. Conversations this week begin with “where were you….?” or “how many windows did you lose?” And while they may be legitimate and are offering their services, it is like vultures with all the roofing repair and dent removal businesses which have descended upon McCook following the storm. As city officials noted, do your due diligence with any company doing repairs for you and follow the old adage, which is old and still around because it’s true: If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. And one last note on the storm, we need to be careful what we ask for. As storm after storm approaches McCook and then splits in two to go around the town, we finally got one to roll right over us. The storm liked McCook so much it slowed down and just there. I was in Lincoln during the storm and trying to determine when I would drive home. I thought the weather app had frozen or the radar was broken because every time I looked, the storm was still sitting over McCook, doing its damage. I guess we can be thankful the next time a storm seemingly just goes around us. *** We are in the thick of McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. Congratulations to all the Heritage Days Royalty, which was announced at the MNB Bank Mixer this week. A special shout-out to Bill Donze, better known as Mr. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who were honored as royalty for their impact in McCook. As many know, Mr. Bill is fighting cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The chances of him selling snow-cones and candy out of his van next summer near the McCook Aquatic Center are not good. One judge of his impact was the response to my column about Mr. Bill a few months ago. The post was shared thousands of times, viewed nearly 70,000 times with just as many comments by people sharing their fond memories of Mr. Bill. So when you see Mr. Bill riding down Norris in the convertible this weekend in the Heritage Days parade, send extra prayers and well-wishes to the man who has brought so much joy to so many kids - and adults too - over the years. *** Continuing on the Heritage Days theme, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook Rotary Club is tossing all egos and formality out the window this weekend. As the president of the McCook Rotary Club, I invite everyone to at least watch, if not participate, in the Rotary’s first inflatable costume relay race on Saturday as part of the festivities in Norris Park. These are those giant, blow-up costumes you usually see around Halloween. The first costumes were usually T-Rexes but now there is everything imaginable available as a design. With the idea for the race originally conceived by Melanie Goodenberger, she has purchased everything from corn on the cob to a cowboy riding a chicken. This is a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club with a cost of just $20 for a team of four to participate in the relay race. But it is also a chance to giggle, perhaps make a fool of yourself and just have fun. Come to the park Saturday afternoon for the Wiener Dog races and stay for the Rotary Relay races. While the dogs will already be close to the ground, the relay race participants will likely just end up on the ground. *** With so much going on in McCook this week, I debated whether there should be another activity the next week but the response has already been great for the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska’s next production in McCook. Hosted by the McCook Creative District, the Omaha Street Percussion ensemble will perform at the Fox Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 24. There is a matinee showing at 10:30 a.m. but I will be up-front…we are testing the capacity of the Fox with every seat already claimed with students. If that is the only show you can make, please come and we’ll find you a seat but it may be those up in the rafters. Otherwise, please plan to attend the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 24. And even better, there is no cost thanks to the Kimmel Foundation and the Friends of the Lied. This is a busy week and a busy weekend but this is a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy a fun, entertaining evening of live music.
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
