Latest California Healthline Stories
Prayers and Grief Counseling After COVID: Trying to Aid Healing in Long-Term Care
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 help people deal with the effects of the coronavirus.
Nursing Homes Still See Dangerously Long Waits for COVID Test Results
The Trump administration hailed rapid tests as the way to halt COVID’s spread in nursing homes. A KHN analysis of federal data shows they’re not being used, as questions linger about accuracy and best practices.
Seniors Form COVID Pods to Ward Off Isolation This Winter
Older adults are deliberating what to do as days and nights turn chilly and coronavirus cases rise across the country. Some are forming “bubbles” with small groups of friends who agree on pandemic precautions and will see one another in person. Others are planning to go it alone.
They Work in Several Nursing Homes to Eke Out a Living, Possibly Spreading the Virus
An analysis of location data from 30 million smartphones found that facilities across the country that share the most workers also had the most COVID-19 infections. The “Kevin Bacon of nursing homes” in each state — the one with the most staffers working at other nursing homes — was likely to have the worst outbreaks of coronavirus contagion.
Older COVID Patients Battle ‘Brain Fog,’ Weakness and Emotional Turmoil
Seniors tend to have more serious symptoms than younger coronavirus patients, including the aftereffects of hospital-based delirium. Doctors recommend physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and cognitive rehabilitation.
As Californians Get Older and Less Mobile, Fires Get Hotter and Faster
Retirement areas are increasingly being built in the idyllic wooded fringe of towns and cities. Being close to nature also means being in the path of wildfires.
Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Pandemia obstaculiza al preciado bloque de votantes en centros de adultos mayores
Muchos seniors que necesitan ayuda para obtener o llenar sus boletas podrían sufrir la consecuencias por el cambio de las reglas sobre visitas familiares.
Lifetime Experiences Help Older Adults Build Resilience to Pandemic Trauma
These seniors use coping strategies to keep them socially active yet safe from the coronavirus.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.