As he prepared himself to leave Minot and travel back to his southern home this fall, Mitchell was concerned about his mother’s current communication equipment. Edith, Mitchell’s mom, had 
both vision and hearing barriers. At age 92, Edith battles glaucoma and macular degeneration along with being legally deaf. These factors made it near impossible for Edith to effectively use her phone. After learning of IPAT’s services, Mitchell completed an iCanConnect application with Edith. The iCanConnect program is a nationwide initiative that ensures people who have combined vision and hearing loss can access the telecommunications technology necessary to connect with family, friends and the community.
After visiting IPAT, a solution was created to cover all areas of Edith’s home. For her bedroom, Edith received an AlertMaster. This notification system had a number of items connected to it – Edith’s bedroom phone, her lamp, and a bedshaker. When Edith’s phone rings, the notification base will light up, her lamp will turn on and off, and the bedshaker will vibrate. Therefore, if Edith is unable to hear the phone, she sees the lamp or feels the bedshaker. The AlertMaster also came with a doorbell accessory which also delivers the same cues as the ringing of her phone. In her living room and kitchen area, Edith’s main telephone is now a Geemarc AmpliPOWER60 amplified phone. This phone comes with a large display along with amplification up to 67 dB. Connected to this phone is a phone strobe flasher and voice dialer. When the phone rings, the strobe light will flash giving Edith a visual cue. Also, since Edith struggles at times with the numbers on the phone, the voice dialer allows her to pick up the phone, say the name of the person (programmed) she would like to call, and it will dial for her. Finally, Edith’s clothes washer and dryer are located in her basement. Although she does not use the basement phone often, another phone strobe flasher was hooked up for a visual cue.
With this equipment, both Edith and her son have a sense of relief!