HJNO Jul/Aug 2020

52 JUL / AUG 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS COLUMN  SENIOR HEALTH Isolation Among Seniors Amid COVID-19: FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE MANYhave grown accustomed to avoiding large crowds and staying home. Others will never get used to it. For them, the loneli- ness that often follows prolonged periods of isolation it just too brutal. In the senior care industry, the issue of isolation amid CO- VID-19 has become a particularly hot top- ic, and a growing challenge. The pandemic has presented an unprecedented situation, one in which the only manner of keeping older adults safe from the virus is to sub- ject them to the strains of isolation and the consequences that it brings. Providers are confronted with a very real conundrum as they attempt to care for older adults amid COVID-19: How do wemaintain the balance between protecting the nation’s most at-risk population fromcoronavirus, whilemitigat- ing the risk of loneliness and other health issues associated with extended periods of isolation? Federal, state, and local authorities are also attempting to find the balance in keep- ing the elderly safe from exposure to CO- VID-19, however the prolonged visitation restrictions at long term care and assisted living communities have had a tremendous unintended impact. Well thought out provi- sions were made for the approval of com- passion visits (for those at end-of-life, or those with a terminal diagnosis), however, outside of that allowance, residents of nurs- ing homes and assisted living communities have been subjected to excruciatingly long periods of time without seeing loved ones. Their loss has been great, with some resi- dents arguing that it is the end of their life too, even sans a terminal prognosis. Many residents have, under these conditions, ex- hibited signs of depression, anxiety, cogni- tive decline, and in the worst of cases, pre- mature death. At Lambeth House, where there was an early COVID-19 cluster, Dr. Jodie Gates, an independent living resident describes her experience: “Despite knowing that there were people here who were positive (for COVID), I still felt safe. I would have felt more unsafe out in the public because there was not as much control.The separation and dislocation from Alothaschangedsince the introductionofCOVID-19.Terms likeself-isolation,self-quarantine, and social distancing have found newpermanence in our nation’s and theworld’s vocabulary. Three feet of personal space has now been extended to six, and the concept of physical distancing seems to have found its place in our newly reshaped society.