THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, April 3, 2020 ASKS | FROM PAGE 7 by Jim Miller How to Protect Your Elderly Parents from Coronavirus Dear Savvy Senior, I’m concerned about my 80-year-old mother who’s at high risk for coronavirus. She lives on her own about 100 miles from me, and I’ve been keeping close tabs on her since this whole pandemic started. What tips can you off er long-distance family members? Concerned Daughter Dear Concerned, Because the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the new coronavirus, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline of social distancing and staying home is critically important. Here are some additional tips and recommendations from the CDC and public health specialists that can help keep your elderly mother safe and healthy while she’s hunkering down at home until the pandemic passes. Know and follow the other CDC recommendations: Make sure you and your mom know and practice the CDC recommendations for older adults and those with compromised health conditions. Some of their guidelines – like washing your hands and avoid touching your face – you’re probably already familiar with, but there are many other recommendations and they’re constantly changing. For the complete list visit Coronavirus.gov – click on “Older Adults & Medical Conditions.” Have supplies on hand: Start by contacting your mom’s healthcare provider to ask about obtaining extra necessary medications to have on hand for a prolonged period of time. If she cannot get extra medications, consider using mail-order for medications so she can avoid going into a pharmacy. Also be sure you have over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies to treat fever and other symptoms. She should also have enough groceries and household items on hand so that she can stay at home for an extended period of time. If she needs to restock supplies, there’s online grocery delivery options like Amazon Fresh, Instacart, Peapod, Target and Walmart, and a growing number of stores including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Dollar General and many other that are off ering early dedicated shopping times to vulnerable seniors to reduce their risk of being exposed to the virus. There are also home delivery meal programs that can help home-bound seniors – see MealsOnWheelsAmerica.org to locate one in your mom’s area. Or, check out companies like Silver Cuisine (SilverCuisine.com) or Mom’s Meals (MomsMeals. com) that deliver nutritious pre-cooked meals to seniors that can be heated up in the microwave. Use technology: For many seniors, social distancing can also lead to social isolation and loneliness, which is a common problem in the older population. If your mom has a computer, tablet or smartphone, she can stay connected to friends and relatives via videocalls through Skype, Zoom or FaceTime, which is a safe alternative. If your mom isn’t familiar or comfortable with mainstream technology there are other solutions like the GrandPad (GrandPad.net), which is a simplifi ed 4G tablet designed for seniors 75 and older that allows one-touch videocalls, email and much more. For peace of mind, there are also check-in services like Snug (SnugSafe.com) that send free daily check-ins to your mom’s phone to confi rm she’s OK. And, will let you know if she doesn’t respond. Skip nonessential doctor’s appointments: Most public health experts are also recommending that seniors at risk cancel nonessential doctor’s appointments. If your mom has a condition that she feels should not be put off , see if a telemedicine session, which is now covered by Medicare would be an option. Talk to caregivers: If your mom uses a home health or home care service, that means a number of diff erent aides may be coming through her door. Be sure you talk to the agency she uses or her aides about hygiene. They should all be reminded to wash their hands or use hand gel sanitizer frequently. And any equipment they bring into your mom’s home should be wiped down with disinfectant. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Google Classroom as a platform, but we had already heard that was an option as well. I know this is complicated and some of this is coming from the Department of Education. I also know that Special Ed students need to be well structured as well. He also mentioned that new material will not be covered. I am already doing lots of reviews. I also think now this is slated for next week now, but not positive on that Q: Are you satisfi ed with the information posted on the Saugus Public Schools website or do you think the School Department can do a better job? Please explain your answer. A: We do use the resources through the SPS website, but they are vague and only about half of it is helpful. Much of it is not specifi c age/grade slated. We are using ABCmouse and the Adventure Academy, which passwords were provided free of charge to us. We also log on to the Pearson Math site and SpellingCity, which we had already had access to prior to coronavirus being an issue. Q: Are you satisfi ed with the information posted on the respective school websites of each of your children or do you think they could be doing a better job? Please explain your answer. A: Our school [Waybright School] website still has the laid off custodian listed as the custodial staff . His last day was 6/30/19. My daughter’s first grade teacher is not even listed – who started in September of 2019. There are teachers listed who no longer work in that building and new staff who were never put onto the site. Talk about parental frustration. Page 15 Q: How do you think your children’s education is being impacted by the shutdown of schools and the school district’s response to the shutdown? A: I worry mostly about the two youngest children. They are well behaved but have to work academically harder than some of their classmates. These are the kids who seem to fall through the cracks the most. When they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, that is a true statement. If you are a behavior issue, you get the extra attention. If you are failing out of subjects, you get the extra attention. If you are middle of the road like my two, you have to just coast. I fear they are losing valuable skills. I am worried about what happens next school year after missing so much. I do hope we at least get a baseline of curriculum to work off of. Q: Anything else that you would like to share as far as concerns you have about your children’s education during the period of time that the Saugus Public Schools are closed? Feel free to elaborate. A: There are still many unknowns about the future. I think for now I will wait and see how the next week goes. Google Classroom is being set up. The teachers have reached out, so it does actually seem like plans are starting to fall into place. This was a tough situation for a new School Committee to come into. We will see how it goes and hope for the best. Learning comes in many forms. We will continue at home to try and keep our kids levelheaded, well-rounded individuals. We will supplement and support their academics like we always have. We will provide the physical activity, music and art into their day. We will look at this time spent together as a family as a gift. We will make the best of it. Life is typically hectic for us. I can’t stress enough how much credit I give to teachers. Teaching is not easy, especially when you are not a teacher! I actually caught a corn on the cob on fi re in my microwave trying to make it popcorn as a “science experiment.”
16 Publizr Home