Helping Summit County's 90,000 older adults stay safe in their homes

Michigan is struggling to retain direct care workers due to poor pay, lack of benefits, and challenging work environments and responsibilities. In Oregon, however, an organizing campaign that allowed voters to have a say in approving a new state agency, "which would train direct care workers, and negotiate contracts with their union," has helped direct care workers in the state obtain raises and benefits. Michigan is now hoping to follow their model.

Throughout the U.S. a group of nursing homes known as Green House Cottages are providing a model of care through their patient-centered architecture, philosophy, and organization. Unlike the typical nursing home, each resident at a Green House gets their own room and bathroom and staff do not fluctuate. During the pandemic, this type of design has also helped keep at-risk residents safe.

To better serve patients struggling with dementia, a hospital in Berlin established a department of geriatrics and began screening "patients for cognitive impairments upon admission, providing them with trained volunteers for personal support and non-pharmacological interventions to prevent delirium." This course of action has helped the hospital to diagnose cases earlier and offer dementia-specific care for patients, which consequently has reduced the prescribing of drugs for these patients.

City officials in Berkeley have recently implemented a mobile testing site for Covid-19 to better reach vulnerable populations throughout the region. Although the physical testing site will remain as the central point for testing, the mobile option has helped test those in senior homes and nursing facilities, as well as their caretakers.

For seniors re-entering after incarceration, San Francisco’s Senior Ex-Offenders Program (SEOP) is there to help with the transition. The program offers transitional housing, employment services, and even assistance for minor things like getting a debit card or help with transportation. SEOP has partnered with the city, county, and law enforcement to strengthen its efforts, a key one being the one-on-one assistance and support groups that have shown the most impact with participants.

A shortage of caregivers throughout the U.S. has forced the industry to rethink how it's attracting workers, especially men. From simplifying applications to better targeted outreach, organizations are implementing new strategies that, so far, are working.

Santa Monica, California piloted an experiment that sends rental checks to seniors in the city. After seeing positive results, the program now plans to expand 10-fold.

Senior citizens can often face many barriers when trying to set up end of life care, and this is exacerbated for minorities due to language and cultural barriers. On Lok Senior Health Services, however, is a program now offered across the United States that helps seniors "age in place, and live independent, active lives," while still planning for the end of life.

The inclusion of music makes for a more healthful long-term care environment. The nonprofit organization, the Room 217 Foundation, helps lessen the effects of isolation suffered by seniors living in nursing facilities by providing them with access to music therapy. Using grants and with the help of research from the University of Toronto, Room 217 has developed a program that includes both musical activities for residents as well as performances.

Loneliness and social isolation are on the rise globally, and feelings of loneliness can be extremely detrimental to health and longevity. In Denmark, the "National Movement Against Loneliness" and GENLYD train community members to recognize signs of loneliness and refer those at risk to these programs and provide services such as group dinners and group activities based on hobby.