As healthcare and essential services become increasingly digital, organizations that serve communities are finding new ways to ensure technology does not become another barrier for the people who rely on them. Whether someone is trying to participate in a telehealth appointment, access health information, communicate with a provider, monitor their health, or connect with essential resources online, digital skills and support have become increasingly important to health, independence, and well-being.
At digitalLIFT, we are proud to work alongside partners that are responding to this challenge in thoughtful and innovative ways. Curry Senior Center, Kentucky Health Center Network, and MHP Salud serve very different communities, yet each recognizes that trusted support can help people overcome digital barriers and participate more fully in an increasingly digital world.
Supporting Older Adults Through Connection, Health, and Technology
For older adults, technology can provide important opportunities to remain connected, independent, and engaged, but only when they have the support and confidence needed to use it. Curry Senior Center’s Curry Senior Vitality program demonstrates what is possible when technology is integrated into a broader approach to supporting the health and well-being of older adults.
Participants receive iPads, Fitbits, and smart scales that can help them stay connected, monitor their health, and explore new ways of incorporating technology into their daily lives. Curry Senior Center recognizes, however, that providing technology is only the beginning. Older adults need opportunities to learn, ask questions, practice new skills, and receive trusted support if technology is going to become a meaningful part of their lives.
That understanding is what brought Curry Senior Center and digitalLIFT together. By pairing technology with digital skills training and ongoing support, the partnership helps participants build the confidence to use their devices in ways that support their individual goals, whether that means staying connected with family and friends, accessing information, or using technology to support their health and independence.
Building Digital Navigation Capacity Across Kentucky’s Health Centers
The Kentucky Health Center Network is taking a different but equally important approach by looking at how healthcare organizations can better prepare their own teams to support patients facing digital barriers. KHCN supports Kentucky’s Community Health Centers, which collectively serve more than 600,000 Kentuckians, and recognized that the growing role of technology in healthcare was creating new challenges for both patients and the professionals who serve them.
Patients may be asked to navigate patient portals, participate in telehealth appointments, access health information online, and use digital tools to communicate with their providers, yet many people need support to use these systems successfully. Through its partnership with digitalLIFT, KHCN began investing in the people who are already trusted by patients and communities.
Healthcare workers participated in digitalLIFT’s Digital Equity and Healthcare training, which explores the intersection of digital inclusion and health while helping participants understand the barriers that can prevent patients from fully benefiting from digital healthcare tools. The partnership represents an important step toward building digital navigation capacity across KHCN’s network of 26 health centers and creating opportunities for healthcare professionals to better recognize and respond to the digital challenges their patients face.
Empowering Community Health Workers as Digital Navigators
MHP Salud has long recognized the powerful role trusted, culturally responsive community health workers can play in improving health outcomes. As the systems people rely on become increasingly digital, MHP Salud also recognized that community health workers need the knowledge and skills to help people navigate technology and access the services and resources that support their health and well-being.
Through its partnership with digitalLIFT, MHP Salud has explored how community health workers can expand their role as Digital Navigators. This work recognizes that digital navigation is becoming an increasingly important extension of the support community health workers already provide, particularly as healthcare, benefits, and other essential services continue to move online.
By providing training and resources that strengthen digital navigation skills, MHP Salud is helping prepare community health workers to identify digital barriers, build confidence using technology, connect individuals to affordable internet and devices, and help people navigate the digital tools required to access healthcare and other essential services.
Different Partners, Shared Commitment
Curry Senior Center, Kentucky Health Center Network, and MHP Salud serve different communities and operate in very different environments, but their work points to an important shift taking place across healthcare and community services. Organizations can no longer assume that the people they serve have the skills, confidence, or support needed to navigate increasingly digital systems independently.
Each partner is responding in a way that reflects the needs of its community. Curry Senior Center is helping older adults use technology to support connection, health, and independence. KHCN is building knowledge and capacity within its network of community health centers so healthcare professionals can better understand and respond to the digital barriers their patients face. MHP Salud is helping community health workers expand their ability to support individuals as trusted Digital Navigators.
Together, their work demonstrates that there is no single model for addressing digital barriers. The most effective solutions are rooted in trusted relationships and designed around the needs of the people and communities being served. Whether support comes from a senior center, a healthcare network, or a community health worker, these organizations are demonstrating how digital inclusion can become part of the broader effort to improve health and strengthen communities.
Is Your Organization Seeing Digital Barriers Affect the People You Serve?
Organizations across healthcare and community-based services are increasingly seeing the impact digital barriers have on the people they serve. Whether patients are struggling with telehealth, patient portals, online benefits, digital health tools, or the everyday technology required to access essential services, building the capacity of trusted staff can make a meaningful difference.
digitalLIFT’s healthcare training packages are designed to help healthcare organizations equip their teams with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to support patients impacted by the digital divide. Our packages include training in digital navigation, digital skills instruction, digital equity and healthcare, internet safety, and practical curriculum and resources that staff can use to support the people they serve.
Explore our Healthcare Training Packages to find the resources that are right for your organization and learn how your team can build the skills and confidence to better support patients in an increasingly digital healthcare environment.
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