As the coronavirus continues to spread in the US, Apple Industries has begun donating its Print Budii instant photo labs to New York area healthcare facilities as residents and patients continue to be separated from their families.
The Print Budii units allow families to instantaneously print photos with personalised messages directly inside nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and hospitals for distribution to residents/patients by the facilities’ staff. The machines will be free to use.
“We want to do our part,” said Apple CEO Allen Weisberg. “Our staff have been greatly affected by stories of people hospitalised with the virus and being completely quarantined from contact with their families and the outside world.
“Visits to nursing homes and assisted-living facilities have been banned in order to protect the most vulnerable, so it was important for us to find a way to connect these families again.”
Friends and families can print to Print Budii by clicking on a special web link outfitted on the facility’s website. From there, users can take a new photo or select from their photo gallery, decorate it with custom artwork and then enter the resident/patient name before printing.
“We are seeing hundreds of photos being printed and distributed daily,” said Apple COO Scott Avery. “Most of the prints contain personalised messages to their loved ones. We hope those prints are translating into thousands of smiles during these unprecedented times.”
Apple says it has seen interest in Print Budii from these types of facilities prior to the pandemic and a few facilities began reaching out within the last few weeks to inquire further. “We decided, rather than move forward with a sale, that we would cover all of the costs of the unit and offer the families unlimited prints for free for the foreseeable future,” said Weisberg.
“We are calling other facilities to gauge their interest, as well, and hope to be able to install Print Budii in a number of facilities over the next few weeks.”
