Problem: Baystate currently has a "no visitor" policy for most patients due to COVID-19. Many inpatients do not have smartphones, making communication with family difficult, if not impossible.
Solution: Baystate has established a pool of loaner tablets (e.g. iPads) to be distributed by staff to patients who do not have their own device for video chatting with family/friends.
- Denise Schoen is the main contact for obtaining a tablet
- Use video chat: Jitsi Meet meet.jit.si (link to webpage is available on tablet)
- No user account is necessary
- Click on saved Jitsi link on device to open web browser
- Create a unique room name
- Share the room name with patient's family via text, email, or phone call
- We recommend using phone or send as Cortext to any cell number. If Cortext is used, recipient can reply once and otherwise cannot reply to Cortext originator (Cortext address is not revealed).
- Family member logs into the Jitsi room in any browser
- Video chat is connected
- Screenshot instructions below
NOTE: Going to meet.jit.si in any browser, on any device (app required on iOS), is the simplest fastest way to connect two parties for a video chat, whether on a loaner tablet or somebody else's device. No account and no app to install. It's fast and easy.
At this time, this Family Video Chat chat use case is the ONLY approved use of Jitsi at Baystate.
FAQ
Question: How many people can be in one Jitsi virtual room?
Answer: There is a hard limit of 75 participants but performance begins to suffer at 35. Performance improves if participants chose voice only connection to a room.