Covid19 Tablet Campaign #comfort4covid
Donation protected
Comfort4Covid
Our goal is to fund/source 1000 tablets to donate to hospitals around Ireland to enable critical COVID-19 patients to connect with their families using video conferencing. This goal keeps increasing as the need becomes more apparent - it has gone from 100 to 250 to 600 to 1000.
"The absence of family & friends in the hospital has been so poignant recently. Meeting with families is usually such an big part of what we do everyday and it would normally be so unusual to see such unwell patients alone. This campaign will allow patients and families to be together in the best and safest way possible, which is so important as a source of comfort at such a difficult time."
Dr Emer Ryan, Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, The Mater Hospital
What we want to do & why
Reading reports of critical patients desperately fighting COVID-19 in intensive care, alone without their family is devastating. Some will survive, while others won’t and this situation means that their families won’t be with them to say goodbye. Not only that, but seeing their patients suffer alone puts an added emotional burden on our front line staff who have already had so much asked of them.
At the same time, technology is allowing for unprecedented levels of remote communications to help society and business to continue operating via Zoom, Skype, Meet, WebEx etc.
We want to bring that technology to these critical patients, so that
i) where they are conscious, they can see their family’s faces and hear their voices, bringing comfort in a scary environment.
ii) where they are unconscious, their family can talk to them, providing connection & assurance and allowing them to be together at the end.
The majority of the patients hospitalised are older, with 50% over 65. Not only may a lot of them not have a smartphone with them, but patients who are critical will not have the energy to hold up a phone. Tablets allow for bigger pictures and easier positioning for patients.
How to help?
We initially targeted 100 tablets, to give to the hospitals around Ireland treating COVID-19 patients, allowing the tablets to be set up bedside of critical patients. We are extending that to 1000 due to demand.
All money raised will go towards buying tablets.
We would appreciate any support you can give - Maybe you have friends working in Google, Amazon, Microsoft or Apple who could help get tablet donations?! Maybe you have lots of followers on Twitter, Insta, Facebook and could share for donations? Maybe you work for Three or Vodafone mobile? Please get in touch if you can help!
Once we get through this current crisis, we envisage the hospitals keeping the tablets. There are many people in the hospital who will benefit from them including use by long term patients, younger patients, older patients with family abroad etc.
Who we are & Why are we doing this?
Ciara is an electronic engineer, Suzanne is a vet and medical devices specialist, Emma is an entrepreneur, Kevin is an IT & Security engineer and Niamh is an assistant principal. We are all from Dublin, Ireland. Ciara, Suzanne & Emma met while studying for an MBA in UCD. Like everyone else, the reports from around the globe of the devastating impact of COVID-19 has had a massive impact on us. Everybody wants to do their part to help and this is an opportunity for us to do just that.
Not only do we both have many friends and family working in the medical profession as doctors, nurses, pharmacists but Suzanne has first hand experience of suffering with COVID-19 and of seeing a loved one be hospitalised.
Suzanne’s partner, an ICU Doctor, was admitted to hospital for COVID-19. It was an experience that highlighted the emotional distress of saying goodbye to someone and not knowing when you will next see them. Digital communication played a paramount role in both his recovery time and relieving anxiety as Suzanne was isolated at home. Not everyone is in a position to use technology as they did.
The aim of this campaign is to help by providing communication tools to the hospitals for use of critical patients.
Links to our LinkedIn profiles to verify authenticity:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/comfort4covid/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciaraclose/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-stewart83/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmafarrell/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpattison/
Our goal is to fund/source 1000 tablets to donate to hospitals around Ireland to enable critical COVID-19 patients to connect with their families using video conferencing. This goal keeps increasing as the need becomes more apparent - it has gone from 100 to 250 to 600 to 1000.
"The absence of family & friends in the hospital has been so poignant recently. Meeting with families is usually such an big part of what we do everyday and it would normally be so unusual to see such unwell patients alone. This campaign will allow patients and families to be together in the best and safest way possible, which is so important as a source of comfort at such a difficult time."
Dr Emer Ryan, Specialist Registrar in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, The Mater Hospital
What we want to do & why
Reading reports of critical patients desperately fighting COVID-19 in intensive care, alone without their family is devastating. Some will survive, while others won’t and this situation means that their families won’t be with them to say goodbye. Not only that, but seeing their patients suffer alone puts an added emotional burden on our front line staff who have already had so much asked of them.
At the same time, technology is allowing for unprecedented levels of remote communications to help society and business to continue operating via Zoom, Skype, Meet, WebEx etc.
We want to bring that technology to these critical patients, so that
i) where they are conscious, they can see their family’s faces and hear their voices, bringing comfort in a scary environment.
ii) where they are unconscious, their family can talk to them, providing connection & assurance and allowing them to be together at the end.
The majority of the patients hospitalised are older, with 50% over 65. Not only may a lot of them not have a smartphone with them, but patients who are critical will not have the energy to hold up a phone. Tablets allow for bigger pictures and easier positioning for patients.
How to help?
We initially targeted 100 tablets, to give to the hospitals around Ireland treating COVID-19 patients, allowing the tablets to be set up bedside of critical patients. We are extending that to 1000 due to demand.
All money raised will go towards buying tablets.
We would appreciate any support you can give - Maybe you have friends working in Google, Amazon, Microsoft or Apple who could help get tablet donations?! Maybe you have lots of followers on Twitter, Insta, Facebook and could share for donations? Maybe you work for Three or Vodafone mobile? Please get in touch if you can help!
Once we get through this current crisis, we envisage the hospitals keeping the tablets. There are many people in the hospital who will benefit from them including use by long term patients, younger patients, older patients with family abroad etc.
Who we are & Why are we doing this?
Ciara is an electronic engineer, Suzanne is a vet and medical devices specialist, Emma is an entrepreneur, Kevin is an IT & Security engineer and Niamh is an assistant principal. We are all from Dublin, Ireland. Ciara, Suzanne & Emma met while studying for an MBA in UCD. Like everyone else, the reports from around the globe of the devastating impact of COVID-19 has had a massive impact on us. Everybody wants to do their part to help and this is an opportunity for us to do just that.
Not only do we both have many friends and family working in the medical profession as doctors, nurses, pharmacists but Suzanne has first hand experience of suffering with COVID-19 and of seeing a loved one be hospitalised.
Suzanne’s partner, an ICU Doctor, was admitted to hospital for COVID-19. It was an experience that highlighted the emotional distress of saying goodbye to someone and not knowing when you will next see them. Digital communication played a paramount role in both his recovery time and relieving anxiety as Suzanne was isolated at home. Not everyone is in a position to use technology as they did.
The aim of this campaign is to help by providing communication tools to the hospitals for use of critical patients.
Links to our LinkedIn profiles to verify authenticity:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/comfort4covid/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciaraclose/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-stewart83/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmafarrell/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinpattison/
Fundraising team (4)
Ciara Close
Organizer
Emma Farrell
Team member
Kevin Pattison
Team member
Suzanne Stewart
Team member