Text that is difficult to see clearly. Small buttons that are hard to select. Key content hidden behind confusing icons.
These are just some of the reasons why many older adults with deteriorating vision and dexterity say they struggle to navigate the internet, an issue that has come into sharper focus recently as the pandemic forces more people to take care of business online than ever before.
Some Companies Make Their Websites More Elderly-Friendly
www.wsj.com
Faced with users who have deteriorating vision and dexterity, some companies are making their sites easier to navigate and easier to read.I am glad some companies considering Elerders special needs.
Belgium had one of the world’s highest coronavirus death rates in the world, driven in large part by fatalities at nursing homes. Between March and October, 61 percent of coronavirus deaths in the country were nursing home residents. One of the reasons so many people died in care facilities was because they were not transferred to hospitals, the report said.
Do you think failure to protect elders should be classified as a human rights violation? Why or why not?
Failure to protect the elderly in Belgium amounted to a human rights violation, according to Amnesty International.
www.nytimes.com
F.D.A. Authorizes the First At-Home Coronavirus TestLast Updated Nov. 20, 2020, 5:54 p.m. ETNov. 20, 2020, 5:54 p.m. ETStates are taking a piecemeal approach to controlling the surging virus, as Fauci...Yes. And it is happening here. My daughter in law is a nurse in a nursing home that is completely overwhelmed. They don't have enough PPE so are washing disposable paper isolation gowns. She has had to wear one N95 mask for a full week instead of 8 hours as recommended. They don't have enough tests. They can only test those who are still testing negative. And staff go back to work as soon as they feel better, without a negative test. They are vastly understaffed. Many quit when the outbreak first occurred. Of the rest, 29 have tested positive. They don't have the staff to isolate the care of the positive residents, now more than half of all residents. 10 have died. And that number is sure to go higher because the majority of residents are in their 90s and 100s. Nobody has made any real effort to get the necessary supplies needed for the nursing homes in the last 8 months, either because the supplies don't exist, or they underestimated what would actually be needed, or someone decided that nursing home residents were going to be unpreventable collateral damage to our "economy." Don't think it isn't happening in the US.
Pfizer and Moderna have separately released preliminary data that suggest their vaccines are both more than 90 percent effective, far more than many scientists expected. Neither company has publicly shared the full scope of their data, but independent clinical-trial monitoring boards have reviewed the results, and the FDA will soon scrutinize the vaccines for emergency use authorization. Unless the data take an unexpected turn, initial doses should be available in December.
The End of the Pandemic Is Now in Sight
www.theatlantic.com
A year of scientific uncertainty is over. Two vaccines look like they will work, and more should follow.A tidal wave of grief and loss has rolled through long-term care facilities as the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 91,000 residents and staffers — nearly 40% of recorded COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. And it’s not over: Facilities are bracing for further shocks as coronavirus cases rise across the country.
In response, nursing homes and assisted living centers are holding memorials for people who’ve died, having chaplains and social workers help residents and staff, and bringing in hospice providers to offer grief counseling, among other strategies. More than 2 million vulnerable older adults live in these facilities.
Prayers and Grief Counseling After COVID: Trying to Aid Healing in Long-Term Care
khn.org
With employees emotionally drained and residents suffering from loss, many nursing homes and assisted living centers are working with chaplains, social workers and mental health professionals to he…Covid-19 cases in nursing homes saw a more than 40 percent increase from mid-September to Oct. 25 after seven weeks of steady decline, according to the most recent data. Nursing home operators and experts on long-term care say it’s basically impossible to keep the coronavirus from seeping in as cases spike in communities across the country.
The administration has improved testing and staff screenings at nursing homes since last spring, yet workers will inevitably bring the virus in with them.
Pandemic invades nursing homes again
www.politico.com
Care facilities can’t keep the virus out as it spreads through communities.