The Covid-19 pandemic is the ultimate universal health crisis of current times and one of the most significant challenges over the past several decades. Since the emergence of the deadly virus in China in 2019, it has spread to almost every corner of the world. The impacts have been diverse and far-reaching and have shaped how humans do things, mainly in the health sector, including caring for the old. The 2020 article How covid-19 will shape the future of senior living. New models of care, more aging in place by Reshma Kapadia, discusses how the virus will change senior housing. Undoubtedly, Covid-19 has made many families leery about sending their loved ones to care facilities.
Coronavirus will change senior living housing since the aged are more vulnerable to coronavirus and other infections than other ages. It is estimated that in the U.S., up to 40 percent of Covid-19 deaths were recorded in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes (Kapadia 2). Even though the two are different, seniors go to both nursing homes and assist living for care since they offer different service levels to the residents. On the one hand, the startling figures have pushed many families to rethink sending their old ones to the centers. On the other hand, the management of the care facilities is strategizing by offering services that adhere to covid-19 safety protocols.
Further, Covid-19 has made it difficult for families to visit and share with their loved ones living in care facilities. Daily broadcasts of fatalities at nursing homes and tales of people being denied an opportunity to see their loved ones due to quarantine will definitely leave a significant mark in the industry (Kapadia 5). Even before the pandemic struck, seniors were not ready and willing to relocate into senior-living communities. The pandemic makes even families skeptical and shy away from sending their loved ones to senior-living facilities. More older adults and their families are equating living in the care facilities to courting death which poses a threat to such facilities’ existence.
Reference
Kapadia, Reshma. How Covid-19 Will Shape the Future of Senior Living. New Models of Care, More Aging in Place. Barron’s, 2020.