i3 - March/April 2021 - 20

(HEAL) Coalition - formed in late 2020
- is a multi-sector initiative to create recommendations on the greater use of technology to mitigate health disparities,
particularly coordination of resources.
Among the members are Best Buy Health,
Boston Children's Hospital, Google,
Microsoft and Validic.
" The rise of digital health technology gives
us a unique opportunity to help advance
health equity, improve access to care,
increase health care quality and lower costs, "
says Rene Quashie, vice president, digital
health at CTA. " With greater use of technology, we can help reduce inefficiencies and
provide more personalized care for marginalized patients and consumers. "
CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro
said during CES 2021, " Technology is solving our toughest global challenges. "

At the consumer-facing level, the consumer
technology industry is also focusing on
enabling seniors and people with disabilities
with technology to enhance their lives.
" These are two growing demographics, yet
often overlooked areas of philanthropy, "
explains Stephen Ewell, executive director of
the CTA Foundation, which supports 20
active grants in a variety of categories to support these communities. " Technology can
have an incredible impact on people as they
live, work and play, " Ewell says, citing the
prominent role of health tech. And he
emphasizes that technologies are assisting
people in their daily lives across all of the consumer tech market areas. The Foundation's
projects reflect the range of tech applications
" for the good, " for example:
● Oak Hill Assistive Technologies in
Connecticut, is developing a " smart home
on wheels " to bring advanced vehicle services to seniors and individuals with disabilities who lack transportation.
● The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg
Music School in New York, offers " accessible
music technology " to aid students, educators,
professional musicians and recreational
learners in instruction and performance.
● The American Printing House for the
Blind, is creating resources to help people
new to vision loss.
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● Cyber-Seniors, a nationwide program to promote inter-generational
mentoring, connects middle school, high school and college students with
seniors to train them to use smartphones, tablets and computers.
● The Arc of the United States, is developing an " environment navigator "
pilot program to help adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to help them orient themselves with new jobs and roles.
● Byte Back, a 24-year-old Washington, DC, organization, received a
CTA Foundation grant to enable people with disabilities and seniors to buy
tablets, screen magnifiers and other assistive technologies. Ewell points out
that support comes from CTA plus an array of companies and individuals,
ranging from AARP and IBM to Verizon and VOXX.
" The past year has driven home the challenges of physical distancing and
social isolation for people across the world, but these are especially challenging for older adults and people with disabilities, " Ewell adds.
" Technology is a key tool in creating connections that can help people build
and maintain their networks. "

THE FRENCH PROTOTYPE

French President Emanuel Macron established " The Tech for Good
Summit " in 2018, seeking to take a stand for " responsible and inclusive
technological progress, with an eye toward collaboration of big and small

This and previous page: Mr. Cole Photographer/Getty Images.

FOCUS ON SENIORS AND
SPECIAL-NEEDS CITIZENS

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

3/11/21 12:31 PM

https://cta.tech/Who-We-Are/CTA-Foundation

i3 - March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - March/April 2021