COVID-19 isolates seniors, takes emotional toll

Mental health professionals express concern about the impact of long term isolation on senior citizens during the COVID-19 crisis.

As Berks County’s chief mental health officer, Edward B. Michalik understands the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on senior citizens and their families.

But it’s not as a mental health professional, but as a son that gives Michalik special insight into the emotional trauma confronting Berks County families in the era of coronavirus.

Michalik’s mother is in lockdown at a nursing home, and he hasn’t been allowed to see her in person since March.

“She just doesn’t understand why her son doesn’t come to visit her,” confided Michalik, who talks to his mother by phone. “I feel terrible, I tell her I love her and I miss her.”

Numerous families across Berks County are in the same position, said Michalik, the county’s mental health developmental disabilities administrator.

“I share the same pain as families who can’t see their loved ones,” he said. “I feel badly for seniors and their families.”

COVID-19 has taken its harshest toll on senior citizens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 80 percent of the more than 150,000 COVID-19 related deaths in the U.S. were among persons over age 65.

Strict measures

Given the risk to seniors, nursing homes and retirement facilities have enacted strict measures to protect their residents. Many seniors have been in lockdown for more than four months. And with COVID-19 cases on the rise in most states, it’s difficult to determine when policies that separate seniors from loved ones will cease.

Among mental health professionals, there’s growing concern about the long-term effects of isolation on seniors and their families.

Michalik recently testified at a hearing on the mental health effects of COVID-19 before the House Human Services Committee in Harrisburg.

“We’re still trying to wrap our arms around the devastating long-term effects of this disaster,” he said.

Gerard Mike, Beaver County behavioral health administrator, testified with Michalik.

“As the pandemic continues, I would like to echo Dr. Michalik’s observation that scores of Pennsylvanians will be dealing with anxiety, grief and guilt over the loss of loved ones,” Mike testified. “Friends, families and neighbors will confront the anxiety and stress associated with long-term isolation and loneliness.”

Ann Barlet, Berks County Office on Aging manager of public advocacy, said COVID19-imposed isolation has prevented seniors from participating in milestone family events.

They’re not able to see their grandchildren or attend birthday parties or high school and college graduations, she said.

Neither can they attend funeral services for longtime friends.

Barlet said phone calls, window visits and sessions on Skype or Zoom are critical in letting seniors know they are not alone.

“It’s important to create a routine,” she said, “to create a sense of normalcy.”

Home alone, feeling alone

LuAnn Oatman, Berks Encore CEO, said the COVID-19 crisis has heightened the isolation that many seniors experience in normal times.

Even among seniors who live independently, she said, there has been an increased sense of isolation and fear. Unless they make a concerted effort, she said, seniors can feel totally alone.

“From March through July, they’ve been home alone,” she said. “It’s been bad for their mental health.”

Berks Encore’s senior citizens centers had been closed since March 17, though volunteers continued to deliver Meals On Wheels to shut-ins.

Berks Encore delivered about 6,500 meals and some 2,000 emergency meals during the crisis.

About two weeks ago, all but one of the centers re-opened for socialization, Oatman said.

The agency operates centers in Reading, Fleetwood, Shillington, Strausstown, Wernersville and Birdsboro.

Classes in yoga and tai chi offer socialization as well as physical activity. The Strausstown center has a watercolor painting class, and Reading offers bingo and a farmers market.

Seniors can also register for armchair travel to Ireland on Zoom.

Lori Gerhart, Encore’s communications and marketing director, stressed the importance of keeping seniors engaged.

“It’s important,” she said, “for seniors to have something to do other than sitting at home.”

Expressing relief

Seniors at a recent Sit & Get Fit class at Encore’s Reading center expressed relief at being able to get out of the house.

“It feels good about coming back to the center,” Gloria Minor of Reading said, “and seeing some people I haven’t seen for a while.”

Martha Hall, who lives in a Reading high-rise apartment, missed going to church and mingling with other residents.

To escape the boredom, she took walks and drove around in her car. She also managed to find time to volunteer as a packer of Meals On Wheels at the center.

“I enjoy the exercise,” she said of the Sit & Get Fit program. “I’m happy that it has returned to the center, along with movies, bingo and pokeno.”

BEN HASTY — READING EAGLE Barbara Mills, right, Body Recall instructor, leads the exercise class at Berks Encore. Front to back are Eva Beears, Elaine Hartman and Peg Wrede.

BEN HASTY — READING EAGLE Barbara Mills, front, Body Recall instructor, leads the exercise class. Back from left are Elaine Hartman and Peg Wrede, both of Reading.

BEN HASTY — READING EAGLE Barbara Mills, front, Body Recall instructor, leads the exercise class. Participating are, from left, Elaine Hartman, and Peg Wrede, both of Reading.

BEN HASTY — READING EAGLE Eva Beears, left, and Elaine Hartman participate in a senior exercise class held at Berks Encore, a senior services organization in Reading.