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
Some families of Alzheimer's patients in Michigan have dealt with the hard reality of finding out that "isolation kills."
The state recorded 4,838 deaths related to the disease last year, according to Bridge Michigan. The Alzheimer's death rate in 2020 was 18% higher than the average of 4,100 for the six years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was back in the middle of March that restrictions were instituted at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to limit the spread of the virus. Only essential visitors and visits were allowed.
Prior to those limitations, Gene Schoendorf, 94, was still able to have conversations and smile when his daughters visited him at the Ovid Healthcare Center. Schoendorf -- a retired grocer, World War II veteran and father of three -- could still root for his favorite college team, the MSU Spartans. That all changed when the health restrictions put an end to family visits and daily activities, like meals with other residents at the facility.
Schoendorf's adult daughters, Sarah Maynard and Stacy Doubrava, believe that because they couldn't physically interact with their father, it sped up the disease that had already taken away his ability to perform routine activities, such as getting dressed and showering by himself. He passed away just days before Christmas. The cause of death on his death certificate was listed as both "Alzheimer's Dementia" and COVID-19, which he contracted during the final days of his life.
"Once we could not get in there, we were just a friendly person," Maynard told Bridge Michigan. "You know, it's that physical presence that makes a difference, and it wasn't happening."
More research has found a connection between bad outcomes for seniors and long-term isolation.
"You can't take a pill for loneliness," Dr. Sheria Robinson-Lane, a gerontologist at the University of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan. Robinson-Lane, who specializes in caring for for people suffering from dementia, said emotional health does affect the overall well-being of a patient.
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