Our normal humor aside, Yale News recently released a study which was published Sept 7, 2021 which revealed results from a study from 2011 through 2018 of patients over 65 who had been hospitalized that had included an ICU stay. These were patients who participated in a National Health & Aging Trends study which showed more than one in three who experience few social connections die within 3 years of discharge… a rate 3 to 5 times higher than the general older adult population. One suggestion from the study was to see if volunteer organizations could work with hospital staff to facilitate weekly phone calls or volunteer to offer transportation to follow-up appointments.
After reading the article below, it could be a good motivator for us to try to find ways to stay connected to family and loved ones who live alone, or to volunteer as time permits to help others. If you have more to add, whether a story of how this can change someone’s life, or knowledge of a volunteer organization which does this already, please send a note to [email protected]
Read the Yale News article HERE