COVID-19 Delivery of Adaptive Vision Health Services for Seniors.

The death of two dear nurse friends with dementia who lost their lives in long-term-care facilities, not from COVID-19, but because of it, shook me up. In their “homes,” many usually independent activities were not expected, but encouraged, carefully monitored, and assisted, or taken over, as appropriate. When attendants told Patricia to stop roaming and stay in her room, she refused to eat or get out of bed. Shortly thereafter, she expired. Kathleen, who was in “memory care,” gave up her life when she could not understand how to use the telephone or computer to communicate with her children and grandchildren. My heart goes out to those of you who had to endure the extreme sorrow being unable to be physically present with suffering loved ones. These events motivated me to contemplate these questions: How do seniors with visual impairments and health issues maintain quality of life during disasters? What specialized attention occurred during the COVID-19 lockdowns? What conditions complicated matters? Are health care personnel aware of the services vision professionals provide? What opportunities occur to collaborate with health care providers? In this commentary, I will share my casual survey regarding vision professionals providing services. My experience includes being a health care professional, certified vision rehabilitation therapist, and octogenarian with multiple health problems, sensory deficits, hospitalizations during recent years, and long-term assistive needs. I experienced pandemic-imposed conditions during my hospital stays (isolation, masking, medication rules, supervised mobility, short staffing, fatigued caregivers, dependency, and restricted visitors). The hospital staff members tried to meet the challenges of multiple patients, observed problems, recommended treatments, and provided in-house referrals to specialized services. I asked about their awareness of adaptive vision devices. With admittedly limited experiences of patients with known vision impairment, the head nurse (a registered nurse) reported some, saying that only patients with acute special medical or surgical requirements were retained in the hospitals. However, she cited an example of agitation related to COVID-19 that was causing patients to struggle out of bed and flail their arms. An attractive multicolored posey belt vest adorned with large zippers and buttons to occupy busy fingers helped calm agitated individuals. The floor manager showed an impressive closet filled with adaptive suggestions, large-print materials, dietary aides, communication hints, sensory support, and safe mobility devices. Staff members responded to questions about using these items with: “I didn’t know those existed”; “The demand for