Sophia Thompson-Arispe

Senior Independent Living Facility Technical Support

Proposal
Introduction
In the summer of 2018, my grandmother moved into an independent living facility. She has
enjoyed living there; she’s provided with appetizing meals, helpful service, and a small private
yard that’s the perfect size for her dog to run around in. She has not had many complaints about
the establishment until recently.
My grandmother has always turned to me and her former neighbor for help with her electronics.
When she moved into her apartment, her neighbor and I continued to happily visit whenever she
had a problem. But when the pandemic hit, we were no longer able to safely visit her whenever
she needed us to. We both did our best to answer her questions over the phone or, on the rare
occasion, work on her devices during a socially distanced visit, so she was able to get by for a
few months.
In August, I moved to New Mexico for school, and planned on calling her if she ever needed
assistance. But shortly after, the living center started to change the internet, cable, and phone
provider, leaving her without any form of entertainment and one less form of communication.
After a few weeks, her cable and phone services were fixed, but she did not regain internet
access until mid-October. And even then, she had a difficult time reconnecting all of her devices
to the new internet.
During the months she went without internet, she constantly asked for help and assistance from
the staff and general manager, but she would either be ignored or only one part of the problem
would be fixed. I helped over the phone as much as I could, and her former neighbor visited her
as often as she could, but our expertise and capability could only do so much.
There are most likely many other residents who have experienced the same technical problems
my grandmother has faced the past few months, and not all of them have access to help from
family members and friends. It is necessary for the living facility to establish a team of people to
assist residents with any technological help they need.
In this proposal, I will first describe why a technical support team needs to be implemented into
the independent living facility. Second, I will offer a plan for the hiring process and
establishment of the team. Third, I will review my qualifications for proposing this idea. And
finally, I will go over some of the costs and advantages of establishing a technical support team.

Why a Technical Support Team?

Because of the pandemic, it is important for people to stay home, self-isolate and social distance
as much as possible. But most people are lucky enough to live with family or roommates.
Unfortunately, there are many elderly people who live alone and have to limit excursions and
visits to almost none to keep themselves safe and healthy. This can cause many seniors to feel
lonely.
According to an article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, loneliness
and self-isolation can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, heart disease, dementia, and even
suicide and premature death in people over 45 years old (“Loneliness and Self-Isolation Linked
to Serious Health Conditions”).
When seniors move into independent living facilities, they already risk facing loneliness and
self-isolation, which can lead to the risks of the conditions and illnesses listed above. But many
people are still able to make friends with other residents, are visited by friends and family, and
can travel when they want or need to. But with the pandemic, seniors have had to cut-off almost
all in-person contact with other people and are inclined to stay in their apartments to limit any
potential exposure. In a study published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging in
September of 2020, it was concluded that the increase of physical isolation due to the pandemic
could increase the amount of depression, anxiety, and other illnesses amongst elderly people
(Sepúlveda-Loyola).
An outlet many people have turned to in order to decrease the negative impacts of isolation and
loneliness is communication over digital devices, such as through video calls and text messaging,
and depending on television and internet access for entertainment. My grandmother had
depended on the apartment’s provided Wi-Fi and cable for months during the beginning of the
pandemic to avoid loneliness and boredom. But when her cable service and internet access were
down, she had no television or internet to keep her busy and limited modes of communication to
her friends and family.
It is also common knowledge that most elderly people are not extremely knowledgeable when
using technology. Most elderly people I’ve known used to travel to their nearest technology
stores, IT support businesses, or myself whenever they had a problem with technology. But since
these options all risk contact with COVID, these elderly people never venture out to have their
devices worked on or to ask a question. Instead, they stay home and ask me for my help over the
phone and hope they understand, or they just hope the problem fixes itself. With technical
problems that may lead to devices being unusable, seniors risk not having a form of
entertainment or communication, leaving them in almost absolute isolation, increasing the
probability of mental health and physical health concerns.
With a technical support team, the problems explained above would be solved. With the team,
the independent living facility could have avoided the long duration its cable, internet access, and
phone service were down and would be able to help avoid any future problems with the internet,
cable, and phones. Having a specific team to help residents with any individual technical issues
would ensure easily accessible help any day of the week. The establishment of a team would also
decrease the possibility of exposure to COVID because the team members would only work with
residents and wouldn’t come into contact with possible customers from everywhere in the city,
as people who work at IT business and computer stores face. Overall, the creation of a technical
support team would decrease the number of technical issues residents encounter and would slow
the increase of medical concerns that come with loneliness and isolation.

The Plan
To set up the technical support team, my team, the managers of the independent living facility,
and I would need to undergo an extensive hiring process to make sure the future team members
not only have technical experience, but also have experience and are patient when working with
the elderly. The five-step plan is as followed:
Step 1: Run a Poll
Before the hiring process can begin, a poll will need to be taken to confirm that this
service will be used and appreciated by the residents, for it is ultimately their money that
will be used to fund this team. If a resident votes “no” and still does not want to be
charged if the majority approves, he or she can request to opt-out of the charge, but it will
be highly encouraged for residents to pay for the benefit of all the residents.
Step 2: Begin the Hiring Process
If the majority of residents approve the establishment of the team, the job listing will be
uploaded on multiple job sites to read a large number of potential candidates. After
candidates have submitted an application, my team, the managers of the independent
living facility, and I will conduct real-time interviews over video calls, where we will
gauge the candidate’s qualifications, background, and personality. We will then choose
our top candidates to advance onto the next round.
Step 3: Perform Trial Runs
Once the top candidates have been selected, we will then pair candidates with a resident
who has a technology problem. The residents will then choose whether they are
comfortable with meeting the candidates in-person or not. If a resident chooses to meet
in-person, the resident, the candidate, and the hiring team would meet in a large room,
like a cafeteria, or the resident’s apartment, whichever the resident prefers. If the resident
chooses not to meet in-person, the candidate, and the hiring team would meet in an online
video call. The hiring team will then watch, in either scenario, the candidate solves the
technology problem. The hiring team will also closely watch how the candidate interacts
with the resident to see how patient and clear the candidate speaks to the resident.
Step 4: Team Establishment
After reviewing all remaining candidates’ backgrounds and trial runs, the top three to six
candidates will be hired. The hiring team will then set up an office space for the new
technical support team with a desktop computer or laptop for each team member. The
 team members, if COVID is still a large concern, will be required to partake in a paid
quarantine for two weeks prior to the first day of work. During this time, team members
will work from home and video call any residents facing technology issues.
Step 5: In-Person Work
After the two-week quarantine, the team will have to test for COVID twice a week and
have their temperatures recorded before stepping into the building. When residents have a
technical issue, they will call the office and request help. If the resident does not feel
comfortable with the team member entering their apartment, the resident can request a
video call appointment, where the team member will communicate with the resident from
a computer in the office space.

Qualifications
My team and I are dedicated to bringing this plan to life with the help of managers at the
independent living facility. Here are some of our qualifications:
Sophia Thompson-Arispe has been passionate about technology for most of her life and
enjoys sharing her knowledge with family members. While she does not have any
professional technology training, she is committed to helping her grandmother and other
seniors find the right help and resources they need when it comes to technology.
George Hernandez graduated from the University of Texas, Austin with a bachelor’s
degree in computer engineering in 1975 and started his technical support business two
years later. After working there for 45 years, he has retired and now spends most of his
days providing free, virtual technical support for residents at senior living centers around
San Antonio.
Cynthia Torres is a recent graduate from Texas A&M University. She has earned a
bachelor’s degree in computer science and is currently earning her PhD in computer
science from Texas A&M University.

Costs and Benefits

In conclusion, a technical support team is a necessary installment at the independent living
facility for on-site assistance, especially during COVID, when residents depend heavily on
technology for entertainment and communication.
The main cost of this plan is the wages of the team members. This will become an additional
charge for the residents, which is why a poll is highly recommended before starting the hiring
process. With hourly wages of $14, and depending on the number of team members hired,
residents will be charged anywhere from $75 to $150 per month. The only costs that will fall on
the living facility are the price of computers for each team member, which would cost between
$800 and $1500 each, and any parts necessary for individual residents’ technology issues. While
implementation of this plan may be costly to the independent living facility and residents, the
benefits outweigh the costs:
First, the establishment of the team would ensure easily accessible technology assistance
to anyone in the facility. Residents will be able to have consultations with technology
experts, which will increase the quality of the help they receive and decrease the number
of complaints the management has to endure. This also means residents won’t have to
rely on other employees in the facility for technical help, so those employees will be able
to focus on the jobs they were hired for.
Second, the quality of residents’ lives will become better. With easier access to help, the
amount of time residents will go without working devices will decrease, allowing them to
spend more time communicating with friends and family and using their devices for
entertainment. This in turn will decrease self-isolation and loneliness in residents and will
reduce the risk for other mental and physical illnesses. Thus, residents will be happier and
healthier.
After the establishment and the success of this plan, we hope to propose this plan to other senior
living centers across San Antonio to make sure all seniors get the technology assistance they
need and deserve.
 Works Cited
“Loneliness and Self-Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions.” Center for Disease Control
and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-
adults.html.
Sepúlveda-Loyola, W. et al. “Impact of Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Health in Older
People: Mental and Physical Effects and Recommendations.” The Journal of Nutrition,
Health & Aging, 1–10. 25 Sep. 2020,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7514226/.