February 2020 Newsletter
Mid January 2020 Newsletter
January 2020 Newsletter
Provisioning Older Adults to Get Connected During Covid
It is critical to get older adults reconnected with humanity as they sit alone in their apartments and houses. The solution seems to start at using tablets, smartphones, laptops, and computers. We need to assess whether the two basic ingredients are in place to allow these devices to even make sense for many whose expectations […]
Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me … Connection is right around the corner!!!
Fast backward to March 2020 and imagine my surprise as I saw every activity and program for older adults in communities, senior centers, and every other network that provided engaging programs get stopped in their tracks by Covid. Who would have known? Who could have even conceived that we would witness older adults (already in […]
Compendium on Social Isolation
“Anytime that you have an opportunity to get closer to people, it’s a good thing.” says Wil, 94 and CircleTalk™ participant. “This weekly meeting gives all of us another chance to create a sense of community here (in assisted living) and find some purpose. We use our brains and revisit important old memories.” Background Society […]
What Makes Life Significant, and How We Can Enable Older Adults to Discover this Again
In 2014 Atul Gwande published his seminal book, Being Mortal, exploring end of life values and perspectives by the medical establishment. He says, “As people become aware of the finitude of their life, they do not ask for much. They do not seek more riches. They do not seek more power. They ask only to […]
Letting the Force of Our Character Rise Above Our Circumstances
We regret to announce the opportunity for connection is now postponed, suspended indefinitely or cancelled…… Everywhere I look, gatherings, events, conferences and programs are either not happening in 2020 or are threatened due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Feeling somewhat despondent that this situation leaves all of us more isolated and alone in our existence, I […]
Emotional Exile. Frontline Workers and Professionals Coping Inside the Loneliness Epidemic.
“… it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people …that gaping darkness…” (from Olive Again, a 2019 novel by Elizabeth Strout). This passage jumped out at me and pulled hard on my heartstrings. Frontline workers and professionals in senior healthcare are surrounded by people who face this gaping darkness every day. These […]
