Cell Phone Chargers for Hospitalized Patients
Donation protected
My name is Megan Tress, and I am a Registered Nurse and Advanced Practice Nurse committed to compassionate, patient-centered care. I formed The Charger Squad, a team of new nurses, health care workers and activists who are raising funds to equip every hospital bed in the United States with a cell phone charger. Can you help us?
Why cell phone chargers?
When you work in a hospital, you see firsthand how important it is for patients to have contact with loved ones, either visitors or frequent phone contact. Social support is vital to patient recovery.
Due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19, hospitals across the country have restricted visitors, leaving patients without an important source of support. It’s a scary time to be alone and uncertain. Making matters worse, once a patient’s phone battery dies, their connection to the outside world is essentially cut off.
After hearing countless stories about patients’ fear and isolation during this pandemic, I started wondering—Why doesn’t every hospital bed have a cell phone charger? They’re extremely inexpensive and they can mean the difference between life and death.
In one case, a retired Navy doctor on a ventilator in the ICU , was able to say goodbye to his family—with the help of a nurse’s donated charger. Incredibly, he pulled through not just once, but twice. Connection can be healing, and the research backs it up! Read Exploring Inpatients Experiences of Healing and Healing Spaces or The Impact of Hospital Visiting Hour Policies on Pediatric and Adult Patients and Their Visitors if you still need convincing.
I started by raising money and collecting donated chargers from my local community. With just $1K, I was able to purchase over 700 chargers. That was enough to equip all patient beds at University of Illinois Health, West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
But together, we can do better.
So we assembled a team, put together this page, and now we’re on a mission to raise enough money and in-kind donations to equip every patient bed in the United States with a cell phone charger (this is approximately 1,000,000 beds nationwide).
We’re in contact with wholesalers and manufacturers, on the hunt for durable, functional chargers for every type of phone. If you have a contact or an idea, or if you just want to help, please email [email redacted] and one of our coordinators will get back to you as soon as possible. Otherwise, please give what you can to support this campaign!
Patient recovery can be a long road. Let’s make sure everyone has the connection and community they need to take that first step.
Yours in health and healing,
Megan Tress, MSN, FNP-C
Founder, The Charger Squad
Why cell phone chargers?
When you work in a hospital, you see firsthand how important it is for patients to have contact with loved ones, either visitors or frequent phone contact. Social support is vital to patient recovery.
Due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19, hospitals across the country have restricted visitors, leaving patients without an important source of support. It’s a scary time to be alone and uncertain. Making matters worse, once a patient’s phone battery dies, their connection to the outside world is essentially cut off.
After hearing countless stories about patients’ fear and isolation during this pandemic, I started wondering—Why doesn’t every hospital bed have a cell phone charger? They’re extremely inexpensive and they can mean the difference between life and death.
In one case, a retired Navy doctor on a ventilator in the ICU , was able to say goodbye to his family—with the help of a nurse’s donated charger. Incredibly, he pulled through not just once, but twice. Connection can be healing, and the research backs it up! Read Exploring Inpatients Experiences of Healing and Healing Spaces or The Impact of Hospital Visiting Hour Policies on Pediatric and Adult Patients and Their Visitors if you still need convincing.
I started by raising money and collecting donated chargers from my local community. With just $1K, I was able to purchase over 700 chargers. That was enough to equip all patient beds at University of Illinois Health, West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
But together, we can do better.
So we assembled a team, put together this page, and now we’re on a mission to raise enough money and in-kind donations to equip every patient bed in the United States with a cell phone charger (this is approximately 1,000,000 beds nationwide).
We’re in contact with wholesalers and manufacturers, on the hunt for durable, functional chargers for every type of phone. If you have a contact or an idea, or if you just want to help, please email [email redacted] and one of our coordinators will get back to you as soon as possible. Otherwise, please give what you can to support this campaign!
Patient recovery can be a long road. Let’s make sure everyone has the connection and community they need to take that first step.
Yours in health and healing,
Megan Tress, MSN, FNP-C
Founder, The Charger Squad
Organizer
Megan Cairns Tress
Organizer
Chicago, IL