Broadband Expansion Must Reach Glendale’s Nursing Homes

COVID-19 laid bare the fundamental importance of internet access as both a civil right and a public health issue. While many Americans shifted their lives online through Zoom and FaceTime during quarantine, older adults in nursing homes experienced unprecedented social isolation. Without access to technology or reliable internet, quarantine restrictions in residential care facilities meant that many older adults were cut off from family, friends and essential services at a moment when connection mattered most. 

I work as a long-term care ombudsman visiting long-term care facilities all over LA county, facilities where terms like “COVID” and “pandemic” are still uttered in hushed tones. 

“I lost all of my friends. I’m the only one left,” shared one resident. 

Since the pandemic, Zoom and FaceTime continue to be the primary medium for residents to regularly connect with family. A majority of nursing home residents I meet have at least one smart device if not several. Digital literacy, rather than internet accessibility, is often blamed for leaving older adults on the wrong side of the digital divide – but what good is literacy when you don’t have any books?

Take Glendale, for example. Though census data shows the city represents less than 2% of Los Angeles County’s population, it is home to nearly 9% of the county’s nursing homes. A look at broadband coverage data reveals that many of these facilities, or “Community Anchor Institutions” as they’re referred to on the map, are the only red zones in an otherwise highly connected area. 

California has taken several steps to expand broadband coverage in the past few years. Recently the state released the list of internet providers that will be awarded funds under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The aim of this program is to expand broadband access to under-connected areas. Once California’s proposal is federally approved, $1.86 billion will be divvied up among big internet providers like Spectrum Charter and Comcast. 

A second part of the mission to expand internet access is the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative, which is already in development. Simply put, the state is building a publicly owned extension cord that different internet providers will “plug into” to deliver internet directly to homes and buildings. This is a big deal because middle mile infrastructure is the most expensive and time consuming aspect of construction and most internet providers don’t want to take on the risk. The project is currently in development, and the next step will be actually getting internet providers to use it. 

Together, the BEAD program and Middle Mile Broadband Initiative represent a huge opportunity for Glendale to actually ensure access is delivered to its most vulnerable communities. Although the BEAD funding proposal was already submitted, cities still retain an important source of influence: permitting power. Before any construction can begin, providers must obtain city approval to dig trenches and install fiber. 

Glendale can use that leverage strategically. First, the city can adopt a “dig once” ordinance requiring providers to coordinate construction with the middle mile construction that is already underway. This would prevent wasting public funds on redundant trenches while also encouraging internet providers to plug into the state’s public infrastructure instead of building isolated networks. Second, Glendale can prioritize permit processing for projects that serve Community Anchor Institutions, i.e., the nursing homes and residential care facilities that remain woefully under-connected. 

They say where your attention goes, energy flows. In this case, where the city’s attention goes, broadband flows. With that said, all eyes on nursing homes, please! 

Sophia Goldman
Los Feliz

Sophia Goldman is an MSW candidate at USC and a long-term care ombudsman at Wise and Healthy Aging.