Caring for Senior Adults Amidst COVID-19
It goes without saying that this time of uncertainty is scary for all of us. There seems to be a never-ending flood of news about COVID-19, and recommendations for how we should live our lives seem to change daily. As everchanging news overtakes our devices, one piece of messaging remains consistent—The elderly is at an increased risk of vulnerability, and it is imperative for them to self-isolate. AARP has focused on the health and wellbeing of senior Americans and their families for over 60 years. Their top-priority remains the same during COVID-19. AAPR CEO, Jo Ann Jenkins says “In the face of a public health emergency like this, you can count on us to fight for you in the corridors of power and deliver information to keep you and your family safe and healthy” in her recent letter to the 50+ community.
This is exactly what AARP is doing. They have created a plethora of resources dedicated to senior adults and their caregivers in the wake of Coronavirus. Here are just a couple things they have created specifically for our senior population and their caregivers during this time:
- Weekly COVID-19 Tele-Town Halls to keep you up to date on the latest health and lifestyle recommendations for senior populations
- A COVID-19 and Caregiving resource guide
- AARP Community Connections– an online platform launched to allow users to find local volunteer groups to help pick up groceries, provide financial assistance, and lend emotional support.
As always, you and your family’s safety (and now health) remains our top priority. Our staff at Crime Stoppers has been working around the clock to ensure you are getting the best and most up-to-date safety information. During these trying times we encourage you to keep seniors in your thoughts and if you can, help them by doing the following:
- Offer to go grocery shopping and/or set up a grocery delivery for elderly. When delivering groceries be sure to stay 6 feet away from elderly at all times and disinfect any surface you touch in the process.
- Ensure they have enough medication to get through at least a month and go pick up prescription for them. There are some helpful medication dispensers that you can control remotely to ensure they are taking medication in the right dosage at the right time. Check out elliegrid.com or Amazon for this!
- If you have a loved one living in senior living, assisted living, or a nursing home, talk with their facility about what they are doing to protect their residents. What is their plan if one of the residents or staff members contact COVID-19? How will food be distributed? Are visitors allowed?
- Remember that social distancing can be lonely and scary for an elderly person living alone. Set up regular phone calls or FaceTime “dates” with them to make sure they do not get too lonely. Ask grandparents if they will FaceTime with your child while they work on school or do a craft. It will give your child a bit of supervision and simultaneously keep the grandparents from getting too lonely.
We hope you and yours are staying as safe and healthy as possible. We will conquer this virus by banding together while we are physically staying apart.
Thank you to AARP Houston for providing us with information for this blog post. To find more helpful resources for senior adults please visit their website www.aarp.org.
Posted by on 6 Apr 2020