This Philly-based video-chatting platform helps older adults stay connected during socially isolated times

For patients with tuberculosis, it is vital that they take their medicine consistently and on schedule, even after they are no longer contagious, which can be time consuming and expensive for public health departments to manage. Teleconferencing has helped people remember to take their medications, even during a disaster like Hurricane Harvey.

As our loved ones age, their driving skills can change. Through expert opinions from the Area Agency on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association, several measures can improve this transition for caregivers and their loved ones. These steps include how to approach them and where to find educational driving materials. Moreover, the necessity of having a plan in place is emphasized to ensure seniors have a means of transportation in order to prevent depression and other ailments.

Dementia units and long-term care homes for the elderly are often desolate and lonely places, with harried workers attempting to meet the needs of their patients while also meeting government-set metrics of success. For families and individuals, it can be difficult to imagine a better way. However, a pilot program in Canada called the Butterfly room is showing that dedicated efforts to making long-term care homes a vibrant and loving place for someone's last days has positive impacts for everyone - and is worth a government investment do right across the country.

Santa Monica, California piloted an experiment that sends rental checks to seniors in the city. After seeing positive results, the program now plans to expand 10-fold.

The Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care program at UCLA in California is offering a new kind of patient-centered care that has helped bring relief to families in the region. The program, which creates a care plan "that builds in medical needs, solutions for caregiver stress and cultural traditions unique to each person and their family," has resulted in decreased stress and symptoms for patients and increased confidence and support for caregivers.

DOROT is a non-profit organization that matches seniors with younger adult volunteers for social visits to combat isolation and loneliness and to promote intergenerational friendships. Many of the seniors are widowers and social isolation can lead to negative health consequences. The organization also delivers fresh meals and holds other events, but was unable to operate as usual once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so DOROT helped seniors set up Zoom for online conferencing. The group has matched 500 seniors with volunteers and advises similar programs across the country. Many pairs have formed deep friendships.

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

Despite coronavirus restrictions shifting to allow churches to reopen, across the U.S. many religious institutions are continuing their digital video conferencing options as a means of reaching a wider audience. The use of video streaming church services has eliminated the geographical constraints for many, but it has also introduced "challenging questions about what it means to be a church where some people can’t take part in defining activities."

Demand for self-managed abortions increased as more states restrict women’s access to care. AidAccess provides women with abortion pills via affordable virtual consultations with its 10 medical providers, serving all 50 states. Pills are mailed to patients’ homes and are about 95% effective ending pregnancies before 11 weeks' gestation, which accounts for the majority of abortions nationwide. Self-administered abortions are even legal under Texas’ extremely restrictive anti-abortion law, with hits on AidAccess’ website increasing to about 30,000 (from the average of 2,000) after the Texas law took effect.

Companies in the United States are offering more remote work options for employees to match the increasing number of people searching for fully or partially remote jobs after the pandemic.