Photo courtesy of Marshall Rotary Hill Street Place Housing Manager Susie Sammons helps a resident use one of the iPads donated by the two Rotary clubs in Marshall and Schwan’s. Residents at area care centers are using the iPads to connect with family and virtual health care visits.

ARSHALL– With everybody quarantined or working from home, the need to stay connected with family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic is more crucial than ever. Whether it’s a simple text message, phone call or conversation on Facetime or Zoom, it’s important to reach out to your loved ones.

Although it may seem simple to do, not everyone has the luxury of communicating with that technology. One area especially in need are those in care facilities. But thanks to generous donations and teamwork from some local organizations, patients in Marshall and Minneota will be able to stay connected with family members or friends during this unpredictable time.

The Noon Rotary Club and Sunrise Rotary Club of Marshall, along with a partnership with Schwan’s, recently created enough funds in the amount of $2,500 to purchase and deliver 11 iPads for use in the care facilities.

Noon Rotary President Matt Pedersen said after a quick conversation with Susie Sammons of Hill Street Place Senior Apartments and Sharon Hanson of the Sunrise Rotary Club, they created a plan to match the $2,500 donation that Schwan’s Home Delivery provided, which also went toward purchases of iPads.

“It just kind of happened. I contacted Susie Sammons, who’s our secretary and a member of our club, and I asked her how she was doing. She’s the director of Hill Street Place and it’s very busy there with the quarantining and her and Sharon and Schwan’s had talked about iPads at some point for the facility. She said, ‘Well, Matt maybe there is something you can do,'” Pedersen said. “So I contacted Sharon and we came up with a plan to try and match what Schwan’s was doing, so that’s where we came up with the idea.”

Pedersen then reached out to Scott Moat at Computers and Beyond for some assistance with the iPads and accessories. Once that was all taken care of, it was time to distribute.

“We went with 11 refurbished iPads that were paid for by our two Rotary clubs, all with the right screens and memory and one-year warranties,” Pedersen said. “We talked with our clubs really quick and made the decision in the matter of a few days to get the iPads ordered. Scott helped us immensely with some cases and set them up and Susie already had these other places assessed with what we needed to get with those 11 iPads.”

According to the Rotary Club, the iPads were sent and available for use within the facilities last week. The iPads were distributed to several area facilities, including Marshall Avera at Home and Hospice Care, Hill Street Place, Prairie Home Hospice and Fieldcrest, Boulder Creek Memory Care and Madison Avenue Senior Apartments in Minneota.

“This is amazing and greatly appreciated by the facilities to not only connect with families but also to have virtual healthcare visits with their providers,” Marshall Avera at Home Patient Care Coordinator Melissa Maranell said in a press release from the Rotary Club.

Pedersen said their motto from Rotary this year is “Rotary connects the world.” He added that this just fit their motto well and he’s excited to hear the stories of patients connecting with their family and friends more and more during the course of this pandemic.

“I think Rotary’s motto this year is ‘Rotary connects the world’ and this is one way our local club was able to connect with the community, so this was really a neat thing that connected with Rotary’s motto this year,” Pedersen said.

“I can’t wait to hear more of the compelling stories that come out of this as well.”