Opal HealthCare manages 80 residential aged Care Communities located in metro and regional areas across Australia. They have a key purpose: to bring joy to the people they care for.

These communities are a world away from the traditional idea of aged care, and Zoom is playing an instrumental role in how those living in aged care are thriving.

Roseanne Cartwright, Opal HealthCare’s Director of Communications and Community Engagement, says the COVID-19 pandemic has provided their team with a unique opportunity to find solutions that give residents special experiences even when they can’t interact with people in person.

“For our residents and families, the most difficult part of COVID is not being able to see one another in-person for, at times, many months,” Cartwright said. “So, for our residents, there was a gap in the connections they’d normally have.”

An answer in Zoom

The Opal HealthCare team decided the best way forward in helping residents cope with COVID restrictions – and missing seeing their loved ones – was to roll out an additional 340 tablet devices to their Care Communities.

They also trained more than 360 team members to use Zoom’s video communications platform, and the benefits were immediate. According to Cartwright, Zoom enabled residents and families to connect daily or weekly – or whenever they wanted to chat to friends and family – via video calling.

“The ability to see your loved ones face to face, and to have that peace of mind, knowing that they look good and they’re comfortable – this has been enormously important to both our families and our residents,” Cartwright said.

“At Opal HealthCare, our residents represent 26 different nationalities, who are used to talking in their own language. For those families to continue to connect and be able to speak together in their first language with no barriers, has been a great relief to them. One [resident] was able to meet her great-granddaughter for the first time over a Zoom call. These moments are just so important.”

Tech has no age limits

What’s been inspirational for the team at Opal HealthCare is seeing how well technology is able to play a role in residential aged care. Residents who might never have used any kind of tech before, are now embracing Zoom and willing to learn as much as they can.

“With Zoom, many residents are getting so excited about what they can do. They’re feeling really included in the community because now they’re using the same technology that their grandchildren are using,” Cartwright said.

“Our residents love using the iPads for their Zoom calls, and they know just how to do it. We’ve got specially designed cases, which are easy for them to hold, and we have team members ready to help when necessary.

“We have a great deal of enthusiasm from residents who are looking forward to their daily or weekly Zoom calls. And another great opportunity via Zoom is being able to connect team members from across our Opal network around Australia.”

Opal HealthCare’s Chief Information Officer, Tan Nguyen, says residents have enjoyed more than 700,000 “Zoom minutes,” so there’s no doubt their love of Zoom will go well beyond the pandemic.

“I think it’s really exciting that residents, of any age, can come into our Care Community wanting to learn a new skill: technology. At Opal, we are lucky to have innovation as one of the key pillars within our strategy,” Nguyen said.

“There are many examples of how residents have adapted to using Zoom, but it’s also beyond just interacting and talking with their family members. There have been times when a resident hasn’t been able to attend a wedding, for example, so the wedding has been streamed over Zoom. It feels very fulfilling for us that we’re able to bring them that experience, all through the use of Zoom.”

The future of aged care

The Opal HealthCare team is working to further improve resident care, building out its innovation team so that Opal remains at the forefront of aged care. Tech – and Zoom – will continue to play a major role in future plans.

Roseanne says that when it comes to Zoom in aged care, there are endless possibilities.

“There is no stopping us. Our innovation team is working incredibly hard. What can we do next? When people think of Opal HealthCare, we want them to think that everything is possible,” Roseanne said.

“For residents in our care, who are increasingly tech-savvy, we’ve got to be at the forefront. We want them to think, no matter what their situation is, everybody has the opportunity to live in our care with love, purpose, and belonging – and being able to continue to do the things that are unique to them.”

To learn more about how Zoom can elevate your business communications and services you can provide, schedule a demo with a Zoom product specialist today!

I want to set up a screen with two camera input:  

One camera is pointed at me.  One camera is pointed down at a pad of paper.  I want to be able to switch cameras with a keystroke.  Each camera needs separate rotate and mirror options.

So far this doesn't seem possible within zoom.

A second way to do it would be to have a camera aimed at either whiteboard or notepad and bring that up on a second monitor at my end, then I can share that screen.  This doesn't work two way, as most kids don't have a dual monitor set up.

I can see it likely meaning that a student needs to acquire a bit of hardware.  Most laptops now have cameras built in.  Many kids have cell phones, and/or their parents have an old phone.  This gives a second camera.  There are inexpensive adapters to put a cell phone on a tripod.   USB cameras aren't very expensive, but tend to be less capable than a phone. 

Need to ensure that there is only a single audio channel present.

It's really hard to have a camera looking over your shoulder and write.    You want the camera support on the opposite side, across from where you sit.  You want the camera for the writing platform  looking straight down so that the whole image is in focus, and you don't have keystone distortion.

Apple phones tend to auto rotate the image, and this gets confused when the phone is horizontal.

In a typical session I may want to:

* sketch on a pad

* write equations on a pad

* lay a sheet of graph paper over the pad

* lay a calculator over the pad, and show how to use it.

* Bring up a program on a second screen (Geojabra, matlab) and show them how to use it.

* have a mini window showing me what I'm currently transmitting.

* have the student run a program on their screen in a way I can see their work.

Anyway, I'm looking for ideas on how to best set this up.

Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) transformed its communication system by replacing its inflexible on-prem phone systems with Zoom Phone. This transition enabled the staff to work remotely and in hybrid environments, addressing the limitations of the previous setup. By leveraging the Zoom API, they integrated their security system with Zoom Phone, ensuring automatic phone calls to school safety personnel during security alerts.

Additionally, this transition facilitated a healthy work-life balance, allowing staff members to participate in evening board meetings from the comfort of their homes. The district's virtual school stood out by providing students with authentic GBAPS classroom teachers teaching their district’s curriculum.

Click here to learn more!

Do you have a similar program at your school or university? What Questions or comments do you have? Let us know below!

As a product suggestion, and as an educator, I'd LOVE to be able to have my animations that are already in my PowerPoints that I used for virtual backgrounds be abe to...well...animate.  As a teacher, this would be a GAME CHANGER!  Who can help??  How can we get this to become a reality!?

Hi Everyone! 👋

We are pleased to announce an upcoming webinar on October 6th from 11-11:45am PT. 

Join us for a conversation with Melissa Griggs, Grant Consultant with Learn, Design, Apply, Inc. and myself, Amelia Eudailey, Global Healthcare Marketing Lead at Zoom as we discuss the third stimulus package, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and what that means for healthcare organizations.

We will review the timelines and process to receive funding, best practices, and how organizations are using this opportunity to respond to today’s challenges and investing in technology to modernize virtual care for rural clinics, hospitals, health organizations, and physicians.

You’ll takeaway:
💰How much ARPA funding is out there, who has access, and what can it be used for
💬Use cases and best practices for investing for needs today AND tomorrow
💡The different technologies available to enhance care delivery

Register for the webinar below: 

https://zoom.us/webinar/registerevent/WN_TzrWQe3YRN6EdVyAEewHng?id=qSe9A6Z3RbqZnC81_eALYQ

See you there! 

The Zoom account is owned by my EHR which connects directly to my patients' schedules. For 2 years, I could be on with one patient and my staff connect with my next patient to do preliminary check ins. Last month, this stopped due to Zoom no longer allowing a second room opened. My EHR support team says ZOOM has stopped this ability. My question is how to get it back? Is there a higher level plan that will allow for this or was there a change on update and defaulted back but still an option? It is imperative for work flow to be able to have 2 rooms open. Any help appreciated. Thank you.