Cell Phone Recs?

Trixo

Hi! My grandmother and I are looking for a phone that her mother, who is her 90s, could possibly use. She has a habit of hiding things and then forgetting that she hid them, but has a good track record of keeping a landline on the base. 

The reason we need the phone is that she recently tested positive for Covid in her care facility, and the place they moved her to don't have phones in the rooms. 

We've googled around, but can't seem to find anything we think she could use. But if anyone has any ideas we would really appreciate them!

M1

Someone recently posted about a RAZ phone purchased from an Alzheimer's shopping website, you can just point to the picture of the person you want to call. Not cheap though, 350, and only certain carriers, not Verizon as I remember

Trixo

Thank you for the reply! We saw those too, but we're pretty sure she'll hide it to "keep it safe" and it will never be found again.

M1

Welcome to the forum, hopefully someone else may have ideas also. Hope her isolation may be short-lived

Emily 123

Does it have to be a cell phone?  Does she have a land line or cable/fios set up?  If you look up 'Alzheimer phones' on Amazon they have the ones where you can put her frequent contact's pictures.  These are good sized corded phones with an attached large keypad , so would be hard to lose.

Cubbie

It was me who posted on a Raz phone....it is similar to a cell phone but with pictures of who they want to call. There is also a Verizon compatible phone but need to go on the Raz website. On the Alzheimer’s website there is also picture land phones. Hope that helps.

MN Chickadee

Consumer Cellular makes something called the Grandpad that is a very basic small tablet has a phone on it as well as. Designed for older adults who might struggle with technology. I don't know how you get around her losing any of these though. I would also mention it is likely she won't be able to learn to use any of this. At a certain point in dementia it is difficult for them to learn new things, and with the addition the COVID infection causing stress on her body and mind  I would be surprised if it is worth spending the money for a cell phone. You might instead consider something like the amazon echo where you can "drop in" and speak with her without her needing to do anything. Maybe strap it to something so she can't pick it up and lose it? I'm told amazon has something new called the "care hub" with features geared for caring for an elderly parent or PWD that work within the echo. I think it's designed to give the caregiver more control and rely less on the person actually using it needing to do much. I haven't used this yet but may be worth researching for your grandma.

Abuela

A friend of mine was able to use an iPad (tablet) for her mother which is big to hide.  You can call on it like a phone or also use FaceTime. 

CarolynATL

As MN Chickadee suggested, the Amazon Echo is a good option.  We used it with my dad because it required no effort on his part.  We call from our phone and our video simply appears on his Echo device.  Dad likes to hide things too though.  I had to call staff often to go find it.  I wanted to find a clear box I could just bolt it down to his desk!  Ultimately, I'm just doing skype calls that the staff sets up.  Is that an option for you?

Iris L.

If you are in California, you can get a free landline picture phone.  It's free for anyone with a disability.  You just need a doctor's signature to apply.  

Iris