Elderly and the Pandemic
by Ann Peters Miller, LMHP

Our elderly population is especially at risk if they are infected by the Coronavirus. So they are being asked to self-isolate and practice social distancing. That is a lot to ask – mostly now when it has been going on for so long of a time and no end in sight. It can be very challenging for them. Isolation is not just something that affects our emotional health – it can increase our risk for heart disease, stroke, dementia, depression and anxiety.

Many seniors may have lost a loved one or a friend to the virus. Or they may have experienced the death of a loved one during this pandemic. Funerals were not able to provide the support and love that they needed at such a crucial time. We want to encourage them to open up about these losses, share with someone in hopes of being able to successfully work through this grief. Unresolved grief can lead to other issues in which they may stop eating or stop taking their medication and then their physical health could suffer.

If we have elderly people in our lives that we love and care about take time to listen, validate their feelings and allow them to reminisce. They need our compassion.

Don’t think you have to do this by yourself either. Call on others to help. Recently someone in our parish needed some support and their family asked that letters and cards be sent to their mother. I can only hope she was overwhelmed with the amount of cards that she received.

The elderly have most likely been introduced to more technology than they thought they would be – learning how to Facetime or having zoom meetings with family members. These options help keep our seniors connected and feel less isolated. I have also seen families go to great lengths to connect with their friends and family by visiting their loved ones through the window of a nursing home or others that have made plastic hug shields so that grandma can hug her grandchildren. These are great ideas for maintaining connections.

If you want to get more involved and volunteer there are always places such as local senior centers that offer outreach to the elderly – right now delivering food is a necessity- and even Catholic Social Services offers the elderly food pantries delivered to their homes. My hope is that the volunteers who drop off this food can spend a few minutes visiting with them (6 ft apart of course) this could be the only people they have contact with. Let’s reach out and connect with our friends and family who are elderly–it’s ESSENTIAL for all of us to have meaningful contact.