The heightened threat COVID-19 has on the lives of older adults, about 60 years and older, has been well documented.

But even for those who manage to avoid coming in direct contact with the dreaded virus, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the everyday lives of a sizable, growing population of older adults in Weld County.

And, while the pandemic has left little chance for true normalcy for these older adults, numerous local non-profit organizations have adapted to these current circumstances to assure these older adults are receiving the services they need to remain as healthy as possible, physically and mentally.

There is a vast network of organizations in and around Greeley and Weld County that are focused on assisting older adults in their daily lives.

This network includes such local agencies as: 60+ Ride, Catholic Charities, the Community Grief Center, Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, Meals on Wheels, NextFifty Initiative, the Weld County Area Agency on Aging, the Weld Food Bank and North Range Behavioral Health.

“All of this network of assistance has had to make a transition to how they can help the people they work with — older adults that are staying at home, aging in place — continue to have their needs met, while socially distancing,”  said Lyle SmithGraybeal, United Way fo Weld County’s vice president of community impact. “The whole network of organizations serving older adults has had to make that transition.”

Mental effects

The Weld County Area Agency on Aging moved its congregate meal program in a cafeteria-like setting to a grab-and-go service in which people can pick up meals. Also, many of the services and assessments the agency typically provides in person are now being done over the phone.

The agency also works directly with organizations like Meals on Wheels of Greeley and Weld County, as well as 60+ Ride.

The Area Agency on Aging division director Kelly Morrison describes a trickle down effect that greatly impacts the older adults these organizations are focused on serving.

While these agencies drastically alter their procedures and methods during the pandemic, older adults find their own everyday routines to also be significantly altered.

Many of these older adults are missing out on the social interaction and sense of normalcy of sitting down and having a meal with their friends and family, or sharing a car ride to a doctor’s appointment with one of 60+ Ride’s volunteer drivers, for example.

As a result, this causes a heightened sense of loneliness and isolation — potential mental health concerns among an older adult population that already faces a greater physical health threat because of this pandemic.

“It has affected them like it has anyone else; it’s hard,” Morrison said. “I think the difference is when it comes to social engagement and isolation. Older adults have been singled out and described as being more at risk, or even frail. So you start to internalize that, and for some, the fear can begin to compound it all.

“Also, if someone lives alone, that social isolation from family and friends can affect their mental health, which may have a ripple effect on their physical health.”

Adapting to the circumstances

Under normal circumstances, 60+ Ride provides free transportation for older adults.

But to allow for better social distancing and not put their older adult clients directly in harm’s way, the organization has changed its services altogether.

Since the middle of March, 60+ Ride has stopped providing rides to older adults and instead is now using its resources and volunteers to deliver groceries to its clients.

“We have had to completely revamp everything we do,” 60+ Ride’s executive director Janet Bedingfield said. “If you think about it, you can’t really socially distance in a vehicle, at least not without a partition.”

Initially, 60+ Ride had plans to deliver groceries and prescription medication to its clients. However, local pharmacies have stepped up to deliver prescriptions themselves to older adults, Bedingfield said.

Bedingfield said even though COVID-19 has forced 60+ Ride to completely tear up its normal business model, merely closing up shop during the pandemic wasn’t an option. 60+ Ride and other area organizations have been steadfast in their desire to continue helping older adults, in whatever way possible, knowing that there has likely never been a time when these adults have been more in need of help.

“We did not have any hesitation switching over,” Bedingfield said. “In a situation like this, it’s really remarkable to witness what happens in the non-profit world. There was no hesitation on any staff member’s part, any board member’s part — we didn’t know if we would even have funding, or at what level, for delivering groceries, and we were already setting it up.”

Fortunately, the Weld Food Bank partnered with 60+ Ride to make these food deliveries possible. And, United Way and Weld Community Foundation have provided Weld Recovers Fund grant money to help 60+ Ride pay for groceries for older adults who cannot afford them.

Bedingfield said 60+ Ride is getting closer to offering limited transportation to medical appointments, but that is still a work in progress.

Uncompromising support

Meals on Wheels of Greeley is also focused on delivering food to older adults during this pandemic; just not exactly in the same form as before.

Typically, Meals on Wheels delivers hot meals daily, Monday-Friday.

Now, it is delivering packages of frozen meals twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, via no-contact delivery. It is enough food to last most or all of the week, and it provides a solid option for older adults who obviously need to eat but are reluctant to leave their homes.

Unusual circumstances aside, the local Meals on Wheels organization has been uncompromising in its mission to deliver meals to its clients in an attempt to not only feed those who may not be able to purchase or prepare meals for themselves but also to provide some small sense of normalcy while their daily routines remain severely disrupted.

“Our biggest thing is, we want to make sure we’re still providing those healthy, nutritious meals to our clients and our community members in need,” Meals on Wheels of Greeley executive director Michelle Dwyer said. “It looks a little different — it’s a frozen meal, not a hot meal, and it’s (delivered) two days a week, not five days a week. But, we’re still making sure if they need a meal seven days a week, they have (enough for) a meal seven days a week.”

Someone to talk to

The Community Grief Center, 2105 Clubhouse Drive in Greeley, was shuttered during the pandemic’s onset locally before reopening May 4.

However, upon reopening the center took on a bit of a different look.

Dr. Debby Baker, the executive director of the Community Grief Center, is accustomed to meeting with groups of about 10 as she offers counsel and support to people of all ages as they grieve the deaths of loved ones.

However, since the center reopened nearly three months ago, Baker and her staff have been limited to one-on-one meetings with the clients they serve.

Fortunately, the center is set to resume group sessions Aug. 6.

These sessions will take on a dramatically different look than past incarnations. Counselors and clients must wear face coverings and will also sit six feet apart in groups of 10 or fewer, Baker said.

Restrictions aside, though, Baker said she hopes the benefits of these group sessions will be two-fold for clients. Obviously, these sessions will strive to give clients the support they need during their times of grief — which is especially important considering many people aren’t receiving the closure they might from the mass gatherings of funerals, which have also been deemed too much of a health risk, in their normal form, during the pandemic.

But, also, Baker said she hopes they will help cure some of the loneliness and isolation that has plague people — particularly older adults — during this pandemic.

Baker noted that loneliness is a particularly prominent concern in assisted living facilities and senior care centers where in-person visits haven’t been allowed during the pandemic.

This is one of the main reasons why the Community Grief Center and other agencies that assist older adults continue to push on, in any capacity they can, for a population that may need a some assistance now more than ever.

“I think it’s very important that we be flexible to make sure we’re meeting the needs of our senior population,” Baker said. “It’s more important as loneliness because a real problem. … In assuring their physical safety, it becomes harder to meet their mental health needs.”

— Bobby Fernandez covers Growth and Development for the Greeley Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-4478, by email at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com or on Twitter @BobbyDFernandez.

Help is available

» Even while the COVID-19 pandemic creates a new reality, while forcing organizations and businesses everywhere to change how they operate, many local agencies continue to provide valuable services to older adults.

» The Community Grief Center, 2105 Clubhouse Drive in Greeley, is preparing to resume no-cost group counseling sessions on Aug. 6. Anyone who has recently lost a loved one and would like some help with their grieving process may call the center’s executive director Dr. Debby Baker at (970) 506-4114. In addition to its regular services, the center is also developing a COVID-19 group for those who have lost a loved one during the pandemic — regardless of whether or not the death was a direct result of the virus.

» 60+ Ride is looking for volunteer drivers to help with grocery deliveries, especially with many of the organization’s normal volunteer drivers being older adults who would face added risk in the midst of the pandemic.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering may call the organization’s main line at (970) 352-9348 and leave a message.

Also, any older adults who are in need of grocery delivery during this pandemic can call 60+ Ride and leave a message.