Dr. John Huth

Using Sketchbook in Nursing Homes

The bladder cancer has gotten me down to a much greater extent than either the previous breast or prostate cancer.  However I've been able to make progress in the use of my new Toshiba tablet, and in fact believe I now understand how to really introduce it into a nursing home.  The trick is to make use of layers with my Alias Sketchbook software.  The procedure is as follows: first I sketch the outline of a figure on a "backgrouind" layer, and then let a Nursing Home resident "dress it" on a transparent second layer.  The second layer can then be erased or changed as much as the resident wants without in any way modifying the background layer.  Then when the resident is finished, I can print out a fusion of the two layers.  This of course lends itself to a setting up a competition between residents; after the first resident is finished, I merely print out his painting, erase everything on the second layer and let the next resident start to work on a new "dressing" of exactly the same sketch on the background layer.  And once they are accustomed to working on a tablet, there is then the possibility of connectring them with students at tablet equipped schools.   

Lure Members of Community to Routinely Visit Long-Term Care Facilities

We are most anxious to have citizens join the effort to routinely visit long-term care facilities. Senior citizens. especially, have something to offer. We “old fogies” can readily establish rapport with residents. Community acceptance is absolutely essential before proceeding to steps two and three, and will only be granted when residents are convinced that any newcomer has a real interest in them.

But we also want high school students to visit, for two reasons:

1) they will bring vitality and many are real “computer geeks”; and

2) they can learn about possible careers, and at the same time satisfy their “community service” requirements.

By developing family-like relationships with one or two residents at a time, one can help them break out of a depressed and lonely frame of mind.

For example, two amiable ladies in one nursing home expressed to me an interest in learning to type. They never gained much speed, but they eagerly awaited each session, and before long other residents (even including some nursing aides) who had been remote at best suddenly wanted to participate!

One of the ladies lived as a young girl in a neighborhood of immigrant Italians. She can speak from first-hand knowledge of their reactions when we went to war with Italy during WWII. Such historical information should be of interest to both high school and junior college students, and should lead to on-line discussions and perhaps even face-to-face visits.

Let's Reconnect Nursing Home Residents With Outside World, and Demonstrate How Much They Have To Offer

Within a 25-mile radius of my home in suburban Washington, DC, there are approximately 200 long-term care facilities (LTCs) offering assisted living and nursing care.

Residents in such facilities pay approximately $65,000 a year (in this region), despite the fact that most of the work is performed by nurse’s aides who are paid between $9 and $11 per hour. And yet, despite advertisements to the contrary, many residents are bored, depressed and view themselves as having nothing further to offer society. In other words, they are simply burdens on society, warehoused until death calls.

As a matter of fact, many of these residents, as well as disabled senior citizens living at home, still have considerable talents to offer society. At the very least, they have anecdotes to share about their lives that are of historical interest. Their knowledge could qualify them to tutor students.

The problem lies not with senior citizens, but with a cocoon lifestyle which cuts them off almost completely from the outside world.

I believe that new technologies can help address this problem. I and others have been experimenting with a Tablet PC, which we've placed in the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington.

In this blog, I'll report on the progress of our work. I welcome your feedback. Feel free to share any relevant experiences you may have.