Isolation in the Age of Corona Virus

What’s Going Around – Isolation in the Age of Corona

Coronavirus news is as rampant as the virus itself. Experts are advocating “social distancing” to slow the spread and allow medical facilities time to handle the swell in demand. The benefit of limiting social contact is undeniable. But one bad side effect of this is social isolation. This impacts people who already experience loneliness. Seniors in assisted living often already struggle with limited family contact, something that is likely to be much more common in the coming months, as visits become severely restricted. But for a while this could be a matter of survival.

What to do: Be patient with the new restrictions and guidelines for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Residents are the absolute highest risk for the worst outcomes if infected. But stay in touch with loved ones through phone calls and e-mails. Take the time to learn about face-timing and Skype. Hopefully, their staff will do the same for residents.

Thought for the day: Contact with loved ones means so much. Learn how to do it without “the touch”.

What’s Going Around is contributed by family practice doctor Kyle Scarborough, M.D. You can reach him at www.familylifemedical.com

Author

Dr. Kyle Scarborough Dr. Kyle Scarborough is a family medicine physician at Family Life Medical in Conroe, Texas. Dr. Scarborough offers care for the entire family, including wellness exams, diabetes care, hypertension treatment, geriatric care, well woman exam, school physicals, and pre-ops and hospital follow ups.