24 Dec Elders and the Holiday Season

  The holidays will differ this year due to COVID-19. Families more than likely will not gather to celebrate, potentially creating major consequences for aging loved ones and their adult children. These consequences may spell another pandemic-related crisis impacting older adults. Traditionally, the winter holiday season brings adult children together with their older loved ones for extended periods of time. In many cases, it’s the one time of year when families gather. But this year will differ drastically. The CDC is urging careful consideration of holiday plans, and we are seeing increasing media coverage around holiday travel. As we approach the holiday season, we look forward most to the time we spend with our family and friends. We make plans and anticipate the joy that we will experience through our time together. We make lists, and shop to our heart’s content. Most of us find “magic” in the season, and our hearts open wide to help those less fortunate than ourselves. This is a call to each and every one of you, please, do something over this holiday season to help a senior who may be all but forgotten.   Elder Orphans Imagine waking up alone on Christmas morning, with no one to share in the joy of the holiday with you. Imagine getting dressed the way you always do, having breakfast the way you always do, and watching TV as you always do—nothing special about this day, no grandchildren squealing with delight as they tear open packages under the tree, no family dinner to look forward to later. That is the scenario faced by tens of thousands of seniors who have no living family members or whose relatives who live far away and can’t visit at Christmastime. These seniors may come from a variety of faiths or backgrounds, but what they have in common is an estrangement from the holiday season, their faith traditions and all the seasonal merriment. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, as many as half of all long-term care residents have no living relations. Of those who do have family, around 60 percent of them never receive a visitor. If that statistic makes you feel sad, consider it may be just the tip of the iceberg. It’s possible a similar number of seniors who reside at home or outside a care facility also lack regular visitors, either because they have no relatives or because their families are disengaged. As many as 60% of nursing home residents have no regular visitors. In times past, seniors were part of an extended family, with children or grandchildren nearby, who would assist them in their later years. But with families living all over the globe, there is often not a relative close by, or more often, one who is willing to take on the burden of an aging parent. Many older people express a desire to remain independent for as long as possible so that they can continue with their daily living patterns, and retain their privacy and dignity. But the ravages of aging often prevent them from being well...