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The COVID-19 pandemic arguably has been the greatest public health disaster of the past hundred years. In addition to the tremendous loss of life and morbidity caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the mental health effects of the pandemic are only beginning to be understood. This webinar focuses on key mental health impacts of the pandemic on older adults, including social isolation, loneliness, depression and suicidal behaviors. It also introduces participants to the concept of prolonged grief, and how societal aspects of the pandemic response have made prolonged grief more likely to occur in older adults after the loss of a loved one. Healing milestones and factors that derail healing will be presented, along with strategies for preventing the detrimental effects of social isolation and loneliness.

Participants in this webinar will:

• Explore the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults, emphasizing depression, suicide and prolonged grief, as well as how such impacts manifest in the long-term care setting;
• Understand and explore the differences between social isolation and loneliness and their role in health and well-being;
• Discuss strategies for preventing the detrimental effects of loneliness and social isolation; and
• Use a case example to explore risk and resiliency factors in prolonged grief disorder and their association with COVID-19, as well as notable healing milestones and factors that can derail that healing.

Presenter:

Andrew S. Rosenzweig, MD, MPH, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of older adults in long-term care facilities. Since 2011 Dr. Rosenzweig has been chief medical officer of Forefront TeleCare, a leader in telehealth linking behavioral specialists to rural, under-served skilled nursing facilities and inpatient geriatric psychiatry units.