Special Olympics NY goes virtual for 50th anniversary

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.

Hosting business meetings over Zoom is nothing new during the coronavirus pandemic, but performing artists are also using the platform and adapting their work to the videoconferencing software. After initial performances were a success, an LA theater company called Theater Unleashed began experimenting with the platform and created a Facebook group for U.S. playwrights and actors who wish to participate. An Atlanta organization called Center for Puppetry Arts started hosting Zoom puppet shows. It isn't a seamless transition, but it is inviting creative adaption from creatives all across the country.

Wine bars and cheese shops in the Detroit area are taking their businesses online during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering virtual tasting classes to their customers. The Royce and Marrow, a wine bar, is connecting viewers with winemakers around the world with their “At Home With Wine” series and Mongers’ Provisions, a cheese shop, set up tasting classes about cheese, chocolate, and charcuterie, with tasting samples delivered to homes or collected via curbside pickup. While there are learning curves for hosting online classes, many shops enjoy connecting with their communities.

Social distancing is as necessary to protect healthcare providers as it is anyone else, so primary care providers in the U.K. are begrudgingly making the move to telemedicine—meeting with and diagnosing patients over a video call. Neighborhood doctors say the new approach saves them time, and telemedicine companies say that demand and orders have increased over 70%. Doctors have also set up "dirty zones" to check possibly infected patients, and "safe zones" to see patients with other ailments.

In Delaware, doctors have turned to telehealth amidst the COVID19 pandemic to treat patients safely and remotely. Using systems called ChristianaCare and CarVio, doctors are monitoring more than 350 coronavirus-positive patients, reaching out to them up to four times daily. The platforms are also being used for individuals without COVID19, who need to see a doctor for other reasons, but don’t want to risk visiting in person.

In Colorado, most mental health services have been moved online as a response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Called telemental health, the virtual sessions give those that regularly see a therapist, or need to because of increased anxiety during the pandemic, an option to from home. While this is being seen as a breakthrough in services, barriers like access to technology and the lack of interpersonal connection provides their own set of challenges.

The Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis is utilizing telehealth practices to treat both the medical and spiritual needs of the community and its patients. Although the "spiritual-meets-traditional care program" was already in place and had received funding before the coronavirus pandemic, it is now being implemented as a telehealth system with patients reporting that it has helped to create a sense of connection despite the adherence to physical distancing.

Mental health agencies in North Carolina have partnered with a mobile phone carrier to provide data-enabled smartphones to individuals who lack access to technology during the pandemic. Because this doesn't provide a solution to all, however, mental health experts are also meeting with patients outside in social distanced settings.

The Montrose Center in Texas, which provides LGBTQ support services, has turned to the use of technology to keep resources available during the coronavirus pandemic. Virtual support groups have been one of their most successful innovations, with providers reporting that attendance at times has been higher than for in-person sessions.

Tampa Bay Area performing artists are finding ways to adapt their practices to abide by the social distancing guidelines brought on by COVID-19. Creatives are learning how to stream their performances online, discovering new computer skills and software, and hosting Instagram livestreams. Not all artists have the financial luxury to only work on their art, but some of these coronavirus efforts also raise a little support through "tip jars." Everyone is eager to return to "normalcy," but these artists are happy with how they are meeting the moment.