Christmas came early this year for two Kingfisher care facilities in the form of iPads and cases, thanks to a grant obtained by Kingfisher Community Collaborative.

Funded through the Oklahoma State Department of Health by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the grant program is intended to provide additional technology access to nursing home residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

The goal of the grant is to provide one communicative technology device for every 7-10 nursing home residents for the purposes of telemedicine appointments with health care providers and remote visits with loved ones.

KCC board member and nurse practitioner Rachel Cameron discovered the grant opportunity after learning that staff members at local nursing homes were using their personal smartphones to help residents connect with medical staff for telemedicine visits.

KCC grant writer Deborah Maths drafted the successful proposal on behalf of First Shamrock Care Center and Cimarron Nursing Center, who interviewed administrators at both facilities to obtain the necessary information. Maths learned that each facility had only one iPad that was being shared among all residents.

Maths was notified the grant was awarded within a week of submitting her proposal, allowing KCC to purchase four new iPads for each facility, along with protective cases and care plans.

But that raised a new challenge - finding eight iPads in the midst of the pandemic, when telecommuting for work and online classes for K-12 grades as well as college students is creating a massive demand for the technology.

“When I visited stores to inquire about the possibility of obtaining eight iPads during the pandemic, everyone laughed,” Maehs said.

KCC Co-Chairman Lisa Copeland spent nearly a month searching for and ordering iPads as the items became available.

After the last one was received, the eight iPads were delivered Dec. 18 to the two facilities by Blair Coughlan, Kingfisher County TSET coordinator and KCC board member.

KCC will be reimbursed for the purchases once Maehs submits the final report to the state.

“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many, care center residents will have a brighter Christmas,” Maths said.