Need for a walker slows this grandpa down so he misses calls

Dear Live Grand:

My grandpa has bad arthritis and uses a walker so even though he has phones in several rooms it takes him time to get to them. I worry about him hurrying to answer more than I worry about his missed calls. He’s in a retirement apartment and has part-time in-home care while he waits for an assisted living opening. Regular cell phones are too complicated for him and since his hands are swollen and painful, he drops them. I know that the GrandPad has a phone, but since Grandpa can’t use any other type of computer or tablet, I’m not sure that this would work either. How hard is it to answer a call on the GrandPad? – WP

Dear WP:

It sounds like you’re committed to helping your grandpa stay connected to family and friends which we admire. A GrandPad could definitely help with that, but it could do much more.

Your primary concern is your grandpa's ease in answering the phone which is simple with this tablet. Using the family admin tools, the person chosen to administer the account would enter your grandpa’s safe contacts. Then, once your grandpa flips open the cover, he’ll see the caller’s photo, tap Answer, and he'd be connected to a video call. This ability for callers to both hear and see him could keep the family more accurately informed about how he’s doing. What's more, he could call you all just as easily.

Your Grandpa could carry a GrandPad in his walker bag and then simply place it on the stand at night. No cords to keep track of or fumble with. The GrandPad is a comfortable size, feels secure in the hand, and the case isn’t slippery.

What’s more, there are all kinds of great options that could keep him entertained, as well as a range of games to choose from that may help maintain brain function. These include card games, challenge games, and old-fashioned fun games like tic-tac-toe.

Then there’s the radio app which many GrandPad users enjoy. If he has a favorite station, the family admin could add that as an option to enhance the selection of pre-sets already within the app. Two favorites are GrandPad radio with music and talk and Radio Recliner which is a station where the shows are run by DJs in retirement living.

Music is nearly universal in its appeal and GrandPad shines here, too. Your grandpa could choose any era he wants or even a specific type such as Irish, Latin, jazz, or classic rock. He could even add his favorite songs to his own Music Collection so he’d have a personally built playlist.

Getting comfortable with a GrandPad could help make your grandpa's move to assisted living easier, too, because he’d have a secure, familiar way to connect with you. The relatives of older adults who own this tablet tell us that having a GrandPad has given their family member a new focus as well as a feeling of security.

Live Grand is a weekly column brought to you by GrandPad — the simplest, safest tablet-based solution that helps reconnect families.