Many elderly people living in long-term care facilities have not been allowed to receive visitors in almost a year. | stock photo
Many elderly people living in long-term care facilities have not been allowed to receive visitors in almost a year. | stock photo
As COVID-19 continues to take thousands of lives daily, another concerning trend has developed in the older demographics, particularly those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia.
Through the pandemic spikes of 2020, Michigan witnessed an 18% increase in Alzheimer deaths in comparison to the past six-year averages. From 2014 to 2019, Michigan recorded approximately 4,100 Alzheimer’s related deaths each year. For 2020, that number leapt to 4,838, according to Bridge Michigan.
This scenario was experienced by Gene Schoendorf, who passed away before Christmas last year at age 94. Though he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years prior, his prognosis appeared to markedly decline as the pandemic locked down long-term care facilities in Michigan. Daily routines were disrupted, familiar faces were unable to visit, and Schoendorf’s daughters -- Sarah Maynard and Stacy Doubrava -- attributed the acceleration of his dementia to the isolation of brought on by the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Once we could not get in there, we were just a friendly person," Maynard, a special education instructor from Clinton County, told Bridge Michigan. "You know, it’s that physical presence that makes a difference, and it wasn’t happening.”
Doubrava, a retired nurse, echoed similar emotions about not being able to visit her father in person. “When we couldn’t go in anymore, I started telling staff members, 'You are more [like] family now'," she told Bridge Michigan.
The balancing act for long-term care facilities has been difficult to say the least, as health care workers have had to navigate the consequences of isolation for their patients, while seeking to minimize their exposure to a virus that is potentially lethal to people their age. Maynard and Doubrava’s mother, Mary Jane, 92, is currently in a long-term care facility as well.
With vaccines being distributed at an increasing rate across the country, the sisters hope that the state will begin to relax visitation restrictions at nursing homes and assisted living communities. “They’re on the inside and I’m on the outside. I’m willing to try to figure out ways to make this work. I’ll volunteer. I’ll do whatever to get the foot in the door," Doubrava said, according to Bridge Michigan.
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