How paramedics can help keep older Ontarians healthy — and out of the ER

DOROT is a non-profit organization that matches seniors with younger adult volunteers for social visits to combat isolation and loneliness and to promote intergenerational friendships. Many of the seniors are widowers and social isolation can lead to negative health consequences. The organization also delivers fresh meals and holds other events, but was unable to operate as usual once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so DOROT helped seniors set up Zoom for online conferencing. The group has matched 500 seniors with volunteers and advises similar programs across the country. Many pairs have formed deep friendships.

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down large gatherings, some churches in the U.S. began offering outdoor services to safely serve their congregations – such as in one retirement community in Florida where members attended services via golf carts. As the weather turns cooler though, churches are finding creative ways to further engage older members such as encouraging them to join Zoom calls for song and worship.

To help keep morale high and reduce the feeling of loneliness in senior centers during the coronavirus pandemic, pen-pal programs have taken shape throughout the United States. The idea started at a center in New Hampshire but has quickly spread across the nation with other senior centers now starting their own letter-writing exchanges to better connect their residents with the community at large.

To help senior citizens through the coronavirus pandemic, teens and young adults are teaching the older people in their communities how to utilize technology. From "using FaceTime, finding reputable news on Facebook, and ordering groceries online," the skills these young volunteers are teaching help bridge the gap between social distancing and isolation.

Rural hospitals throughout the midwest are struggling to stay open, but in Iowa, small successes have been found through partnerships and resourcefulness. From converting the OB-GYN department to an department that provides mental health help to senior citizens to leasing space to larger hospitals for specialty practices, rural hospitals are finding creative ways to keep their doors open.

A pilot program in Niagara, Ontario, dispatches first responders to help seniors get up after a fall. The program also works with researchers around the city to test how and when seniors are likely to fall, what can be done to prevent injury, and how they can recover physically and emotionally after a traumatic fall.

Several medical groups and hospitals in Chicago have formed an alliance to provide the city's homeless population with adequate health care. Some health clinics treat hypothermia, heat stroke, and more and place an emphasis on building stability and trust with the homeless camps in the city; other research labs work to get homeless folks off the street as a longer-term solution.

Nurse practitioner-led clinics in Ontario, Canada, are open for same-day appointments to care for people without a primary health-care provider and decrease the number of emergency-room patients.

What started as a small group of young adults wanting to help their aging parents navigate telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic, is now a multi-state program that provides devices to seniors and low-income people as a way to close the digital divide. The group has grown to over 300 volunteers and partners with local health care providers, who in turn help their patients set up their new devices provided by the organization.

Robot pet therapy, which uses a social robot designed to look like a small animal, weigh the same as an infant, and communicate in a socially comforting way, is helping isolated seniors find a sense of companionship during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although some have raised ethical concerns about "the role of robots in caretaking," others point to evidence indicating success such as "reduced reliance on psychotropic drugs, improved blood pressure and oxygenation levels, and stirred the emotions of patients who otherwise often appeared disconnected."