The Karunashraya hospice, a part of the Bangalore Hospice Trust (BHT), is a not-for-profit public charity which cares for terminally ill cancer patients. The organization provides treatment free of cost to under-privileged patients who could otherwise not afford the palliative care. The hospice also runs a training school for nurses, who are often from under-privileged backgrounds and come from isolated rural areas that have very limited exposure to modern technology. After training, these nurses either take on a role at Karunashraya itself or are placed in other local hospitals.
The hospice had plans to computerize their patient database, but they recognized that the majority of the practicing nurses had little or no digital literacy. They knew that their nurses would need PC skills training if there was any hope of making the changes they needed to make to improve patient care. They also understood that that if the current nurses at Karunashraya were trained it would not only facilitate their move to the computerised database, but these PC skills would then be passed onto the next generation of nurses through the school.
The hospice had a plan to modernize and recognized the need for the training, but they didn’t have a flexible and cost effective way to provide the necessary digital literacy skills to their staff.
However, as part of the company’s ongoing local initiatives under the Intel Involved program, a group of volunteers from Intel India were already working closely with the Karunashraya hospice on fund raising initiatives. Thanks to this existing relationship the hospice approached Intel to see if it could offer further help by lending its expertise to provide some basic computer training for the nurses to help with the big change. The hospices request was a perfect fit for the brand new Intel® Easy Steps digital literacy program. This program is a basic technology literacy education program designed for adult learners with little or no experience with computers that teaches them basic computer skills that can immediately be applied in everyday life.
The call was put out to Intel India’s employees through Intel Involved and 22 staff members volunteered to share their technical expertise and spare time to support the project. The volunteers were trained so they could effectively facilitate the Intel Easy Steps program curriculum and they set up training sessions for the hospice nurses.
So far, 10 nurses and two administrative staff at the hospice have been trained. The Intel volunteers helped identify specific areas where technology could provide benefits in both the professional and personal lives of the staff. Beyond basic use of the PC, some of the practical applications the nurses have put into place since the training include:
Using the Internet to help patients and their family members interact via emails, pictures and live chat on Internet messenger services.
Identifying and researching specialized professional courses to help develop their skill set for improved future employment opportunities.
Online networking with neighboring hospitals, which in many cases has led to improved responsiveness in communication between hospitals.
The volunteers, using the Intel Easy Steps program, helped to empower the nurses with the PC skills they needed to support patients and their families during difficult times. The training also enhanced their personal skills and future employment opportunities. Providing adults with digital literacy skills to improve their lives, and the lives of their families and communities, is the reason why the Intel Easy Steps Program was created.
