• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Subscribe
Program Guide
Watch Live

CCX Media

Skip NavigationMenu
  • News
    • Close
        • CCX News
          • CCX News Home
          • Daily Newscast
          • News Stories
          • CCX News Special Reports
          • CCX Media Schools
          • Current Weather
          • COVID-19 Impact
          • Local Vote 2020
        • Feature Segments

          • Business Matters
          • School Spotlight
          • Standout Student
          • Weekend Showcase
          • Seasonal Features
        • News Tip

          Send us a story idea or news tip!
          Facebook Twitter
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
    • Close
  • Sports
    • Close
        • CCX Sports
          • CCX Sports Home
          • Sports Tips
          • Sports Jam
          • Hall of Fame
          • Upcoming Event Coverage
          • Play of the Week
        • Sports Coverage

          Adapted SportsAdditional SportsBaseballBasketballFootball
          GymnasticsHockeyLacrosseSoccerSoftball
          Swimming & DivingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyballWrestling
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
          Shop/Order
    • Close
  • Cities
    • Close
        • CCX Cities
          • CCX Cities Home
          • The Connection
          • In The Community
          • Our Town’s Story
          • Community Resources
          • CCX Media Schools
          • City Meetings
          • COVID-19 Impact
          • Local Vote 2020
        • Your City

          Brooklyn Center
          Brooklyn Park
          Crystal
          Golden Valley
          Maple Grove
          New Hope
          Osseo
          Plymouth
          Robbinsdale
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
    • Close
  • Create
    • Close
        • CCX Create
          • CCX Create Home
          • Channels
          • Resources
          • Meet The Create Team
          • CCX Create Virtual Tour
        • Get Creative

          • Make Your Own Show
          • Free Classes
          • Contact Us
        • RueShare

          • Member Login
          • Member Guide
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter Instagram
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
    • Close
  • Subscribe
  • Program guide
  • Watch Live
  • COVID Info

The Separation Struggle: COVID-19’s Impact on Seniors

10:00 AM | Saturday, October 31, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit older adults harder than any other age groups when it comes to mortality rates. As seniors navigate life trying to avoid COVID-19, they’re also faced with another issue: separation. 

Life In Isolation

For 64-year-old John Fisher, a simple conversation means the world to him because most days it’s just him and his apartment. 

“Nobody ever stops to say ‘hi’ to me,” said Fisher. “It’s just me and my apartment; we’re best buds.”

Fisher lives at Brooks Landing Senior Community in Brooklyn Park. In the midst of a pandemic, it’s too risky for Fisher to go anywhere else. 

“As you see, I’m a little overweight and I’ve had a couple heart attacks. I’ve had a couple strokes,” he said. 

Also going on two years with throat cancer, Fisher is losing hope, calling the pandemic an “endemic” because “it’s never going to end.”

Separation Struggle

64-year-old John Fisher.

About 10 miles away, in a Brooklyn Center Apartment, 67-year-old Cathie Guerrido is also trying to pass the time. 

“I like to make things,” she said. “I like to make crafts. I look at a lot of YouTube, I like to watch different ministries.”

Because Guerrido has diabetes and a partial foot amputation, she can only do so much. COVID-19 delayed all of her medical appointments and driving isn’t an option. 

“I have to use taxi to go to my appointments. That’s another thing, you don’t know how many people have been in the taxi and things like that,” explained Guerrido.

To avoid COVID-19, seniors like Guerrido and Fisher stay close to home, where only limited friends and families scan visit.

But dodging the disease isn’t easy, especially when loneliness kicks in and families are separated.

Separation

June Linnertz went through an emotional first three months of the pandemic when her dad, Jim Gill, lived in a memory care unit at Cherrywood Pointe of Plymouth. 

“A lot of sleepless nights, you’re worrying about him nonstop, how many more falls is he going to sustain?” said Linnertz. “We could call but it was a struggle for him to pick up the phone. That was how we communicate that way.”

Linnertz said her dad couldn’t understand why nobody was visiting him and why he was stuck in his room. Eventually Gill was placed in hospice and Linnertz was able to see him in-person for the first time in three months. 

“You’re confined to 500 square feet in your own room all day long,” said Linnertz. “That’s a long day, and you’re going to deteriorate very quickly and that’s what happened to our dad.”

Just two days later, Gill died. That final visit meant everything to Linnertz. 

“There’s guilt too, was there something more that can be done with my dad? I can’t imagine what went through his head,” Linnertz said. 

COVID-19 Mortality Rates

The Centers for Disease reports that 8 out of 10 COVID-19 deaths in the country have been in adults 65 years old and older. 

In Minnesota, 86% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been age 65 and above. Among the more than 2,000 Minnesotans who have died from COVID-19 related complications, about 75% had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities. 

Communities Help Seniors

Communities in the northwest metro have helped bridge the isolation gap. Brooklyn Park police and the city of Plymouth have encouraged volunteers to write to seniors through programs such as “Dear GG” and “Plymouth Post.” 

“When’s the last time anybody’s received a card? Handwritten, saying ‘I care about you, I’m concerned about you. I want to let you know that you are loved and you’re not alone.’ How amazing of an impact could that be?” said Jackie Maas, Plymouth’s volunteer coordinator. 

“I think it’s just a chance for community members to step up and engage with one another in a way that was safe,” explained Kim Czapar with the Brooklyn Park Police Department. 

CEAP, a Brooklyn Center-based food shelf, also stepped up to make sure those they server feel cared for. Meals on Wheels volunteers make weekly care calls to about 150 participants. 

“If I can sense that they’re lonely that day or maybe a little down, I’ll take whatever extra time to try and cheer their spirits or give them that air to talk to,” said Rachel Franklin, coordinator for Meals on Wheels. 

How to Help Elderly Loved Ones

If you or a loved one needs resources such as home-delivered meals, prescription drug delivery or transportation, you can call 1-800-333-2433 or visit the MN Board of Aging website. 

  • Click here for more special reports
Pafoua Yang, reporting

Brooklyn Center | Brooklyn Park | Champlin | Crystal | Golden Valley | Maple Grove | New Hope | Osseo | Plymouth | Robbinsdale | Rogers | Twin Cities

CCX News Special Reports | Seasonal Features

Related Stories

Crystal Pedestrian ID’ed, Residents Plead for Traffic Safety Improvements After Man Killed on Crystal Sidewalk:  … Read More
District 279 Standout Students Raise Money to Fight Cancer:  A couple of local teens and childhood… Read More
North Hennepin Professor Releases Book on Overcoming Eating Disorder:  For 12 years, Lisa Whalen has… Read More
Prepare for a Travel Boom: ‘People Are Ready to Go’:  Travel experts are ready for a post… Read More
Plans Change to Accommodate JunoPacific’s Move to Brooklyn Park:  Plans Change to Accommodate… Read More
3-5 COVID-19 Update: Health Officials Urge Minnesotans to Delay Nonessential Travel:  3-5 COVID-19… Read More

Footer

NAVIGATE

  • CCX Media
  • NEWS
  • SPORTS
  • CITIES
  • CREATE
  • Job Opportunities
  • Meet the CCX Media Team
  • ABOUT CCX MEDIA
  • Annual Programming Reports
  • CABLE COMMISSION

SUBSCRIBE

Get email updates for daily story previews. “Week in Review” video links, and programming previews.

Subscribe Today

CONNECT

HAVE A NEWS TIP? CALL OUR TIPLINE AT:  763-533-1710
Send us story ideas and comments!
Get in touch with us
               
 NEWS   SPORTS
 SHOP/ORDER

LOCATION

CCX Media/NWCT
6900 Winnetka Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

Main Phone:  763-533-8196

CCX Media is a service of Northwest Community Television serving the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Copyright © 2021 Northwest Community Television | All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement
Web Design and Development by CEL Marketing PR Design and BizzyWeb | Log in