LI Women Raise Funds For iPads For Isolated Coronavirus Patients

MANHASSET, NY — As the number of coronavirus patients in Long Island hospitals has grown, so have ingenious methods to care for the patients on the part of doctors, nurses and others on the front line of the pandemic. As COVID-19 patients must remain in isolation, connecting with loved ones while they are in the hospital has been a challenge.

Three women with roots on Long Island began a campaign to use technology to solve this problem. Liz O'Rourke, an ICU nurse at North Shore Manhasset hospital, teamed up with childhood friends Laura Tomeselli and Zina Aljouny to create Jeannie's Fund. The GoFundMe campaign, launched April 3, is raising funds to buy iPads and collect used iPads to distribute to New York hospitals so COVID-19 patients can do what they desperately want to, they say: speak to and connect to those they love.

"In most situations when you have a family member in the ICU you visit them, you support them, you hold their hand, and you let them know that you're there for them. With COVID-19 patients, that can't happen. Most COVID-19 patients are stuck in social isolation for 22 hours a day, only interacting with the overburdened heroes of this crisis: our nurses, doctors, and health care providers."

Jeannie's Fund was named after Tomesilli's mother, a nurse on Long Island who used FaceTime on her iPad to speak to those she lived at the end of her battle with cancer in 2016.

"If Jeannie were alive today, we have no doubt that she’d be first to help patients stay connected with their loved ones," the campaign organizers wrote.

"COVID-19 patients are in desperate need of social interaction, but the only responsible way to make that possible is through voice and video calls. iPads are being used in the ICU to allow patients to connect with their family members through FaceTime. In some cases, this may be the last time they get to do so. These calls are only possible if the patients have iPads or similar video call enabling devices. Many patients do not."

The GoFundMe has raised over $22,000 as of Wednesday. After the pandemic eases, the donated iPads will be donated to disadvantaged school districts. O'Rourke was recently featured on the Live With Kelly and Ryan show, talking about her experience as an ICU nurse that inspired the campaign.

The fundraiser's donation page is located here.