Quiet Health Risk: Loneliness in Seniors

We live in an age when we can FaceTime across the country (and globe) with a few clicks or taps on a phone screen. Despite advances in technology and the increasing connectedness it brings, research indicates we are lonelier than we have ever been. Perhaps no other age group feels the keen sting of loneliness more than seniors. Did you know the detrimental health effects of isolation is likened to those associated with smoking up to 15 cigarettes every day? As a result, socially isolated older adults are more likely to use skilled nursing home care—and cost Medicare more when they do. Learn how community volunteer programs, social media, and hospital initiatives are helping to identify and connect isolated seniors to one another, to providers and to the community at large. [br /][br /] [b][a href=”https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP106540″ target=”_blank”]Find more information about this event here[/a][/b]