It’s a crisp morning in Durham, North Carolina, and I’m gazing a patchwork of faces on my Webex display. From September 2025 till finish of final 12 months, I’ve listened as colleagues from throughout our Cisco household of workforce members shared tales with me that had been as uncooked as they had been illuminating. Their voices, streaming in from kitchen tables, dwelling rooms, and generally vehicles, provide a ground-level view of the digital divide—a spot that, for a lot of, is as actual because the miles of empty street stretching between rural clinics.
As each state prepares for a historic wave of funding in rural well being transformation, these tales shine a strong mild on what’s actually at stake. The digital divide isn’t only a tech snag or a coverage problem. It’s a rift that separates family members from life-saving care, belief, and easy dignity. And whereas new funding guarantees to deal with many challenges going through sufferers in well being deserts, the voices I heard reveal a fact far richer and extra sophisticated: fixing the pipes isn’t sufficient. That is about coronary heart, about empathy, and about forging connections that last more than the following funding cycle.
Tales from the Coronary heart of the Community
Take Tikayla Downing. Her story lands in my headphones with a mixture of resignation and love. In her grandmother’s rural neighborhood, the one hospital adjustments fingers as usually because the seasons, however the underlying issues stay. “There’s only one physician’s workplace, one hospital—it’s modified fingers so many instances,” Tikayla tells me, a touch of fatigue in her voice. The true problem? Geography. “Most of us have pressing care inside 5 or ten minutes. For her, even a primary appointment means a protracted journey.” Generally, it’s not only a matter of distance however of hope—hoping that this time, the go to will make a distinction.
Her great-grandmother’s story is greater than a case research. It’s the type of quiet tragedy that may unfold when methods fail to see the gradual emergencies. “She was complaining about again ache for 2 years. By the point somebody took her severely, it was stage three kidney illness,” Tikayla recollects, her phrases carrying the load of two years misplaced to misdiagnosis and minimization. “They simply saved telling her to drink extra water. However she drinks 5 – 6 bottles a day—it wasn’t that.”
With every retelling, belief within the healthcare system erodes additional. “A whole lot of people use the identical medical doctors, and when those you belief retire, you’re left with fewer choices,” Tikayla says. “Generally her illnesses are dismissed, or appointments are laborious to get.” That’s not simply an inconvenience—it’s a silent disaster, particularly for older Black girls who grew up in instances and locations the place questioning authority could possibly be harmful or just unparalleled.
Telehealth, a important useful resource for rural care, is one other type of mirage right here. “There’s a scarcity of laptop literacy [in elder populations]. She solely makes use of her iPhone, and even that’s a wrestle,” Tikayla admits. “My mother manages her appointments and data—with out that, we wouldn’t even know what’s happening.” Add in profound listening to loss, and the digital promise fades into static. It’s not only a connectivity drawback; it’s a chasm of expertise, belief, and accessibility.
The results ripple outward. Tikayla has juggled work and caregiving, generally rearranging her entire life for a single appointment. “If I labored someplace much less versatile, it will have been unattainable. At my earlier job, there was no understanding in the event you wanted to look after household.”
As our Webex name wraps up, Tikayla’s resolve sharpens: “We have to enhance laptop literacy for elders, broaden entry to expert suppliers, and ensure telehealth is actually accessible—as a result of proper now, it’s not.” Her advocacy, she insists, is for all households left within the shadow of the digital divide, not simply Cisco’s clients.
Disconnected, Deprived—and Decided
Alice Sanchez’s story rides in on a wave of reminiscence, coloured by the pink clay roads and smoky daylight of her reservation upbringing. She laughs concerning the unpredictability of healthcare vans—“some days there was a bus, some days not”—however beneath the laughter is the uncertainty that formed her household’s routines. “When the web doesn’t attain you, neither does telehealth,” she tells me, matter-of-fact however with an edge that means that is outdated information.
Broadband, for Alice, is not only a “nice-to-have.” It’s the distinction between catching a harmful fluctuation in blood sugar and hoping for the most effective. “There’s lack of broadband, which I feel is tremendous key… That might require you to have a pc, require you to have cellphone service, some kind of broadband community, which once more lacks in these communities.” With no secure connection, even probably the most sensible telehealth app is simply one other icon on a useless telephone.
However the web is only one thread in a tangle of obstacles. Alice speaks of generational mistrust—how tales of underfunded medical amenities and culturally detached outsiders have taught many on the reservation to anticipate little, and to belief even much less. “You’ll be able to’t simply go in there and be a salesman as a result of to begin with, they don’t belief you anyway,” she says, her voice rising with conviction. “Actual connection means displaying up, listening, and constructing collectively.”
Alice, who has change into an advocate for broadband as a human proper, doesn’t sugarcoat what’s wanted: “Communities bear in mind when corporations overpromise and disappear.” Her name is not only for wires and routers, however for humility, presence, and a willingness to be taught from the individuals whose lives are at stake.
When the Digital Divide Turns into a Life-and-Demise Divide
If you wish to perceive what’s in danger, take heed to NaCherrie Cooper. Her story—shared within the quiet, confessional tones that video calls generally coax out—unfolds like a blues lyric, haunted by the ghosts of the Mississippi Delta and by her great-grandfather, the legendary Muddy Waters.
NaCherrie’s story pivots on a harrowing near-miss. After being prescribed a drugs identified to be dangerous for Black sufferers, she started to swell—her face, her throat, her worry. The hospital felt much less like a sanctuary than a final resort: “It was a rural hospital with restricted sources, and the employees simply seemed overwhelmed and, actually, out of their depth,” she says. Right here, the digital divide is greater than a metaphor—it’s the literal house between experience and desperation.
Then, in a twist that’s as unpredictable as it’s lifesaving, a physician with expertise in various rural populations occurred to go by her room. He acknowledged the signs instantly, urged her to cease the remedy, and almost definitely saved her life. “That was luck,” NaCherrie says, her understatement belying the stakes.
Luck is a frail substitute for a strong, expert, and various workforce—a proven fact that NaCherrie, and anybody listening to her, can’t neglect. “With out entry to robust networks and expert suppliers, individuals like me disappear into the hole,” she says. “We lose not simply well being, however the likelihood to contribute, innovate, and thrive.” Her voice lingers lengthy after the decision ends: the digital divide, she reminds us, isn’t nearly who can get on-line—it’s about who will get to be heard, valued, and included sooner or later.
From Our Household to Each Household
With new Rural Well being Transformation Program funding flowing to states, hope sparkles on the horizon. However these tales, gathered over Webex calls over months with busy professionals—together with me—are a strong reminder: {dollars} alone aren’t sufficient. Safe, resilient networks are important, however so are belief, digital training, and actual partnership.
For Cisco’s household of workforce members, these aren’t distant issues. They’re woven into the tales of fogeys, grandparents, neighbors, and kids. The absence of connection means missed diagnoses, misplaced time, and diminished potential—not only for people, however for complete communities.
“Know-how can solely save lives if it’s accessible, comprehensible, and trusted,” Tikayla instructed me as we signed off, the digital sign fading however her message clear. “We have to construct bridges, not simply networks.”
As states take daring steps to remodel rural well being, let’s bear in mind: closing the digital divide means greater than plugging in a cable. It means honoring the knowledge of elders, reaching throughout cultures, and investing in understanding all individuals as a lot as infrastructure. It means seeing each member of our Cisco household—and each household in America and the world—as worthy of connection, care, and alternative.
Listening to those tales, I discovered myself pondering of my family. My mom moved from Virginia to Raleigh, North Carolina, to be close to me and my husband in Durham. Simply earlier than a deliberate household seashore trip, her blood strain spiked dangerously. On the hospital—a part of a famend well being system lower than ten miles from my residence—she was promptly requested to have an MRI and to remain in a single day for statement. She checked out me and requested, “What do you suppose I ought to do?” I instructed her I assumed she ought to keep.
That call modified all the pieces. The MRI revealed a tiny spot on her left lung. It was most cancers. As a result of it was caught early, she acquired immediate therapy. My mom now credit this well being system with saving her life, and he or she tells anybody who will hear.
What she acquired shouldn’t be a matter of luck or geography. That is the usual of care everybody deserves, whether or not they dwell in a metropolis, a small city, or probably the most distant corners of America. After listening to from Tikayla, Alice, and NaCherrie, I’m extra sure than ever: closing the digital and care gaps is just not solely attainable, however important. We owe it to our Cisco household, their households, and yours.
To be taught extra about Cisco’s work in rural well being transformation and how one can become involved, please electronic mail right here for extra info.
Tikayla Downing works for Cisco as a Buyer Success Supervisor
Alice Sanchez works for Cisco as a Safety Engineering Technical Chief
NaCherrie Cooper works for Cisco as a Digital Content material Strategist