Cigarettes come with a warning label, but loneliness does not. In fact, there is increasing coverage of the health effects of social isolation. Loneliness has been linked to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and even death. Chronic loneliness poses as much of a health risk as smoking cigarettes.

Loneliness can distort our perceptions; it can make us believe that those around us care less than they actually do. As I’ve worked with families and prospective residents to help facilitate their move to The Redwoods I’ve seen a wide range of emotional reactions to the transition. One of the more interesting transitions was that of a woman who had, in many ways, been very social in her life before coming to The Redwoods. She had friends who stopped by to see her, and she had employed an at-home care-giver.

After being at The Redwoods for about a month, she sought me out to say, “I never realized how isolated I’d been before I came here!” This surprised me and caused me to reflect on just how powerful daily interactions with a variety of people can be, and how having a wide range of activities to choose from can build up our emotional reserves.

Wellness has many dimensions. We live in a culture that values the body more than the mind. Favoritism to our physical health over mental and emotional well-being comes at a cost. In the last 100-years, average life expectancy has increased nearly 30 years in the United States. Adults age 60 and older are the fastest growing segment of our society. This achievement gives rise to important questions: what do we want to do with an extra 30 years? We’ve created a new chapter in life, but have yet to fully envision it’s meaning and opportunity.

I see elders joining The Redwoods and reinventing their stories. Through community they are able to explore what their purpose can be in this next phase of life. So many of our residents contribute in powerful ways, organizing new groups such as a climate change study group, lobbying elected officials, sending gifts overseas to soldiers, raising funds for student scholarships, and more.

We all need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, and as humans, we can’t change that we’re hard-wired for love and belonging. We’re meant to connect with one another, to engage, and to contribute meaning and purpose to life. The wisdom of the elders at The Redwoods has taught me to let my circles of connection expand rather than contract, that belonging is a birthright, and that my purpose is tied to my service to others.

Marin IJ Opinion by Dick Spotswood May 5, 2020

During the pandemic there’s much concern over the safety of those living in retirement communities, senior-care facilities and skilled-nursing homes.

All have populations living in close proximity who are fragile, vulnerable and experience underlying health issues. California’s Department of Public Health reports the state’s true hot spots are senior centers where 40% of all COVID-19 deaths have taken place.

Many senior homes with high rates of death are privately owned by chains, financed by hedge funds and operated as businesses where — denials aside — costs are an overriding concern. Others are run by opaque entities, where those behind innocuous sounding names are impossible to identify.

Senior facilities operated by the nonprofit sector generally have performed far better.

Reliable information regarding elder-care facilities is found at Medicare’s website Medicare.gov. All are rated on a five-star scale. Five stars represents “much above average” and one star denotes “much below average.”

Reviewing Medicare’s website, only one Marin location merited a red warning sign. Pine Ridge Care Center of San Rafael got a two-star “below average” overall rating. That score was accompanied by a red flag with the comment, “This nursing home has been cited for abuse.”

California’s Department of Health reports Pine Ridge has “less than 11” resident and staff COVID-19 infections. Due to privacy concerns, the exact number isn’t disclosed by the state.

San Rafael Operating Co., L.P. is doing business as Pine Ridge. It has a Delaware entity with a Maryland address. Medicare indicates Atlanta-based Grancare, LLC, has “5% or more ownership interest” in Pine Ridge. Grancare’s website touts it “has 13,800 total employees across all of its locations and generates $72.75 million in sales. There are 340 companies in the Grancare LLC corporate family.”

This isn’t to condemn all privately operated long-term care centers, but the pandemic is exposing the for-profit senior care industry’s shortcomings that are well known to health care professionals.

There is a right way and a wrong way to run any public, private or nonprofit entity.

In Marin we have a retirement community with an unbelievably good record. The Redwoods, the Mill Valley nonprofit senior facility founded by the town’s Community Church, hasn’t discovered a single COVID-19 infection. That enviable safety record, plus securing an overall five-star Medicare rating, could be attributed to strictly enforcing safety rules plus a well-trained staff and cooperative residents.

The Redwoods isn’t even high-end, though after its recent reconstruction, its campus is top-notch. Of its 370 elder population, 40% of independent living residents take advantage of HUD Section-8 project-based certificates.

It’s proof positive that a diverse group of seniors can be comfortable, safe and happy in an affordable communal living setting if management is committed and profit isn’t the first or even second priority.

Getting the same five-star rating and equally COVID-free is the Tamalpais located in its landmark Larkspur tower. The upscale senior residence and long-term care center is operated by Sequoia Living, previously called Northern California Presbyterian Homes.

The key to success at the Redwoods and the Tamalpais, as it is with all well-run senior facilities, is a sufficient number of well-trained and motivated staff.

The problem facing for-profit elder-care homes is often a dangerously low staff-to-patient ratio. It’s a risky and often shameful way of doing business that needs to be drastically revised once this epidemic has run its course.

by: Maureen Kelly, KRON News

MARIN, Calif. (KRON) – The Marin County Health Department has released new data showing a steep drop off of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes following the distribution of second vaccine doses.

“This is exactly what we are hoping to see for the rest of the county,” Dr. Lisa Santora said.

Marin County’s deputy health officer says the first doses of the vaccine went into the arms of those working and living at skilled nursing and residential care facilities just as the winter surge was upon us.

A graph shows the daily active COVID-19 cases starting in mid-December. As the second doses began rolling out, the graph shows a dramatic drop in cases.

In January, there was a monthly average of 60 active daily cases among this population. In February, that average is down to 4.

Dr. Lisa Santora says this is a concrete example of the 95% effectiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine.

“We see our future in a sense. We see the success that vaccination has had on protecting this population and now as we march forward and more vaccine supply comes, we will just see a continued reduction in hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19,” Dr. Santora said.

88-year-old Bob Crockett got his second shot Monday, which means he will be able to see his kids in person again soon.

“Over Zoom, you can have conversations but you can’t have communication. You really need to sit down with a person and talk to him and things come out that would never come out otherwise, so it’s the separation between humans that have really affected us the most,” Bob Crockett said.

Right now, the number of Marin County long term care experiencing a coronavirus outbreak is zero.

The Redwoods has a new CEO! Hunter Moore, an expert in senior housing planning and operations, joined the senior community in November, following an extensive national search and interviews with Redwoods Board members, Redwoods residents, and community leaders.

In announcing his hiring, Redwoods Board chair Claire McAuliffe said, “Hunter brings an extraordinary wealth of experience and a vision and perspective that will serve us well. This, coupled with his long-time commitment to enhancing the quality of life of older adults, made him absolutely the right choice for us.”

Moore comes to The Redwoods with experience in developing and running innovative senior communities at local, regional, national and international levels, and has served as a expert consultant in the field.

His interest in senior issues began early in life when he observed first-hand the pluses and minuses of senior housing when one of his grandparents needed a more protective environment. “Working in the field was a natural choice for me,” he says. “And right now, I am personally living these issues, since my parents are in a continuing care community.”

Since his arrival, Moore has been busy getting acquainted with Redwoods residents, staff, and volunteers, as well as the community-at-large. “I’ve already learned a tremendous amount about the culture of The Redwoods and the pioneering, creative and activist spirit for which this special place is known. I am honored to be leading this wonderful organization and look forward to continue to fulfill our mission of providing high quality, affordable housing and services to seniors in Marin County.”

Moore, who was born and raised in Massachusets, succeeds Barbara Solomon, who retired as CEO after 16 years of service. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he is married and has two grown children. He currently lives in Sausalito.