Alive Expands Telehospice Program with $50,000 Grant for Seniors

Alive is pleased to announce it has received a $50,000 grant from the West End Home Foundation (WEHF) to support its Henry Hooker Alive Connect telehospice program. Alive was one of 30 nonprofit and governmental agencies that received grants ranging from $10,000 to $400,000.

“We are thrilled to be a recipient of this grant, allowing us to further expand our Henry Hooker Alive Connect telehospice program,” said Kimberly Goessele, Alive President and CEO. “This program supplements the care patients and caregivers receive by offering virtual, immediately accessible, comfort and support.”

“The pandemic showed us just how important this technology is, and if you use the right technology with compassion and care, it can vastly improve the whole experience. That’s how we look at technology: how will it make things better for the families we care for?”

This grant will help Alive expand its Henry Hooker Alive Connect telehospice program, which gives patients and caregivers 24/7 face-to-face support from care teams, access to resources, and medical information and updates.

This program augments in-person care and helps patients and caregivers with faster support, often preventing unnecessary and stressful ER visits. Being able to speak with the team at any time also helps break down isolation and reduce stress. With the help of this grant, Alive patients and caregivers can use their own devices and automatically receive the continuous improvements and feature enhancements made throughout the year. Devices are provided for those who do not have them. Learn more about the program here.

“Agencies and nonprofits seeking grants had to address ways their organizations would reduce social isolation and increase access to essential services for older Tennesseans through digital literacy and inclusion programming,” said Dianne Oliver, executive director, West End Home Foundation. “We look forward to seeing how Alive will use these funds to address the specific needs of its residents.”

Research shows that, when older adults are connected to technology, they become less isolated and more engaged in their communities. Older adults without internet access suffered more extreme levels of social isolation during the COVID epidemic. Many were unable to access essential services and products, and could not take advantage of telehealth, telecounseling and other telesupport services.

The digital literacy initiative, administered by the West End Home Foundation, is the last phase of the $40 million settlement handed down from Davidson County Chancery Court, Division III, Case No. 11-1548-III. Funds from this case were designated by the Court to be used to sustain and improve the quality of life for elderly Tennesseans.

The digital literacy grant program was created in response to the connectivity crisis experienced by our country’s older adults. An estimated 21.8 million older adults are offline at home, with only 58%of Americans aged 65 and older with broadband internet service. The negative ramifications of this lack of connectivity became clear during the pandemic as older adults became cutoff from the families, friends and communities.