February 16, 2010

For Immediate Press Release
Contact:		Justin Philbrick, Director of Marketing and Admissions - Vice President
		603.895.3126

EXTRA EXTRA!! Net Gain For Savvy Seniors UnionLeader.com By JASON SCHREIBER Union Leader Correspondent February 16, 2010

FRANK KOZACKA FINALLY has his Facebook page up and running.

He's got 22 "friends" so far, which isn't bad for a 94-year-old novice computer user.

From his room at the Colonial Poplin Nursing Home in Fremont, Kozacka is keeping tabs on his friends and family through the popular social-networking Web site.

But Facebook is just one way that this Googling great-grandfather is staying connected.

With a little help, the retired junior high school principal from Exeter is e-mailing and You-Tubing his way through life.

The Internet has opened up the door to Kozacka's past, allowing him to take virtual tours of the places he's been, the people he's met and the vehicles he used to drive, such as the 1934 Ford with a rumble seat.

"It allows us to see some of the outside world," Kozacka said of the Internet as he sat in front of a laptop computer screen and smiled at the many pictures of his family posted on their Facebook pages.

Kozacka's growing interest in computers made the nursing home staff realize the benefits of allowing seniors to experience the Internet with help from younger computer users. The nursing home in Fremont is now creating a cyber cafe, where residents will be able to dine with family and friends while also having access to computers.

"We really wanted to break away from the concept of long-term care," Colonial Poplin co-owner Justin Philbrick said.

Sky is the limit
Exposing nursing home residents to all that the Internet has to offer is a goal of Susan Nolan, a chaplain for SolAmor Hospice of Manchester and North Hampton.

"Spiritual care is much broader than religion only. A person's spirits are nurtured by art and music as well as by religion, and today the Internet has become a chaplain's tool," she said. "People are in these facilities and the world is passing them by outside their window. I wish every nursing home in America would provide an Internet connection for their residents."

Nolan hauls her laptop around when she visits patients and hops on the Internet. Kozacka became hooked when she showed him the Facebook page of his grandson, David Emanuel of Stratham.

Kozacka was instantly able to see pictures of his family and was so taken by the Internet that he brought it up to Fred Rosenbloom, 63, a retired computer guy from Hampstead and Colonial Poplin volunteer who heads up a new men's group. Rosenbloom is now showing the group how to surf the Internet.

"I think it's really changed his disposition," Emanuel said of Kozacka, who became despondent after the death of a friend about a year ago.

Emanuel said his grandfather has been given a new lease on life since discovering the Internet and reconnecting with old friends.

Kozacka also has his own Facebook fan page known as "Fans of Frank Kozacka."

"I like to learn the advancements ... where things are going. The sky is the limit," said Kozacka, a former state representative who now serves as president of the Residents' Council at the nursing home.

Down memory lane
With her laptop in hand, Nolan has taken patients back to their old neighborhoods in Google images and through other Web sites.

"I can show them photos of the churches where they were baptized, the schools they attended, their battleships in World War II or whatever else their hearts desire," she said. "The magic of the Internet is that I can bring my patients out into the world, even if they can't leave their beds, and I can bring the world into their bedrooms. I can take them to Paris or Manchester or the moon."

Nolan recalled working with a patient who was bedridden but had been a bus driver in Manchester in the 1950s and 1960s. She brought her laptop to his bed table and showed him YouTube videos of downtown Manchester, historic photographs of his old bus company and the buses he drove, his old neighborhood on the West Side, and images of his beloved St. Marie Church. The man had tears in his eyes when she finished.

"Thank you so much. That brought back a lot of memories," he told her.

He died a week later, but Nolan said she was glad that he had a chance to review his life through the Internet.

Looking for volunteers
Rosenbloom said he would like young people to volunteer to work with the nursing home residents by showing them more of the Internet.

"It's a better quality of life for them," said Wanda Cook, the home's activities coordinator.

Last week, Rosenbloom spent a morning showing Kozacka and other members of the men's group how to use Google Earth. He zoomed in on the nursing home and showed them the area around the facility.

Colonial Poplin resident Sheldon Kelleher, 94, enjoyed his computer lesson.

"I do like to learn," he said, "and the new things make it interesting. I just want to keep on going."

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