KEEPING HOPE ALIVE
Contribution of iPad tablets from LITA of Contra Costa charity has been ‘a life-saver’ to senior residents throughout the region
In the back of her mind, Sharon Lobato never doubted that the summer of 2020 would be personally challenging. She needed hip repair surgery, and the recovery plan called for two months in a rehabilitation care facility.
“That’s hard enough anyway,” the 69-year- old San Pablo resident said.
Add one of history’s worst global pandemics to the equation, and “not only does that change the game, it changes the sport,” said Sharon Lobato, 49, the elder Lobato’s daughter and namesake. “But you get through it the best you can.”
It may seem old-fashioned, but in more than one way, the Lobatos are using love to do just that.
For one, both of them are stationed at the Legacy Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Martinez, where mom will be until at least January after an October fall set back her recovery, and where her daughter is the activities director.
For two, they both say the efforts of LITA of Contra Costa, a 40-year- old public charity based in Port Costa, have been vital in a year that has seen almost all socialization stop because of COVID-19. The charity, with an acronym that stands for Love Is The Answer, provided the facil
ity with 14 iPads to enable some social contact between patients and their families.
“Where we would be without them, I just have no idea,” the younger Lobato said.
Her mother, a grandmother of seven, calls them “a life-saver.”
LITA has received funding this year from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign that serves disadvantaged residents in the East Bay. Donations will help support 41 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The grant will be used to purchase iPads, speakers and headphones for residents to share.
Director Victoria Ryan said the charity’s mission is to provide volunteers and social life to the elderly and disabled, and to work to improve their quality of life. It also provided iPad tablets to facilities in Richmond, Antioch and Pittsburg.
“LITA started out emphasizing personal contact and visits above all else,” Ryan said. “Even now, when there are visitors, those visitors can’t get in. Since the quarantine, everything has become more isolated and lonely for the patients.”
This new world isn’t pretty, the younger Lobato said.
Until the outbreak, she oversaw group outings for the facility’s residents to go see movies, or have picnic lunches or shop. There were socials and coffee hours and dinners that brought together patients within the facility. There was live music — in person.
Most of those things have disappeared in the wake of COVID-19, barred by health officials as they tried to contain the spread. The facility in Martinez, which normally holds 99 patients, cares now for 73. Of those, 20 are long-term patients.
They are not allowed to leave their rooms or go into the hallway. The communal area, the activity rooms and the dining areas have been closed down in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
“It’s super heartbreaking, because I know so many family members who just miss the hugs and miss the touch of their families,” the younger Lobato said. “They tell me that all the time. They just want to touch them and hug them and be next to them.”
Music still happens every Friday, but like the conversations between family members, it’s through a video screen.
“I’m in the unusual position of being immunocompromised,” said John Gruenstein, a guitar and banjo player who is fighting cancer. “So I had to stop making visits to patients’ rooms anywhere a long time ago. So being able to play over a video monitor means I can do it again. Of course, it’s not like being there in person.”
Nevertheless, it’s something. In an existence that otherwise would include only some coloring pages, crossword puzzles and other supplies for arts and crafts, the Lobatos and Gruenstein said the access to video monitoring and screen time via the iPads has had tangible effects on individual hope.
“The most important thing is that it allows the patients to tap into video calls and see the people who care about them,” the younger Lobato said. “It’s not the same thing as being there in person, but it’s the best we can do now. Items
like that are pretty pricey, and they’re hard to get in a nursing care facility where the budget is very limited. So they’ve made a huge difference.”
Her mother can vouch for that, saying her outlook during a year she called “the worst I can ever remember in my lifetime,” turned around only after the iPads were delivered.
“In the first two weeks (after the surgery), I kind of lost it,” the older Lobato said. “I was crying because I wasn’t able to be in touch with anybody or see anybody. Now (with the tablets), I can see my grandchildren, and just being able to see them means so much. Everything just blends together so much it’s hard to remember what day it is, but now I look forward to talking to them and seeing them on the video.
“Without that time, I don’t know that I would have the strength to get better,” she said. “But with it, I know that I do.”