(Snippets from the frontline)
COVID-19/BLM: Drive-In Senior Center
At the base of rolling hills stood our Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center. Above the small parking lot in oak trees were nesting owls, while buffalo grazed the chaparral. Yes, buffalo. The center was tiny, so two years ago the community built a new one several miles away in the middle of town.
No more elbow-to-elbow jostling for space, and the parking lot was bigger. Then wham!…the pandemic hit, and we were closed.
Socialization – gone. Loneliness set in.
The larger kitchen picked up the slack increasing meal delivery 300% to homebound seniors not only in our valley but the one next door. Social services were ramped up.
We saw isolation setting in, so those in charge, like the rest of us, had to re-invent our community role. First, congregate meals became drive-thru, then activities were added. Now we have in our large parking lot drive-in concerts, movies, comedy shows, and bingo.
The biggest obstacle (at least for seniors) was assuring bathroom availability. Done. Clean and sterile.
I miss the buffalo, but at least we have been wise as those owls, adjusting and adapting to the pandemic of our wild wild West!
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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