Ethical and Logistical Considerations Of Caring for Older Adults on Inpatient Psychiatry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

These are unprecedented times. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has upended day-to-day life and care delivery. The older adult population is at high risk of negative outcomes from a COVID infection. In fact, the CDC estimates that 8 out of 10 deaths reported in the U.S. have been in adults 65 years old and older.1 This makes the task of caring for this population on an inpatient psychiatry unit especially challenging. Inpatient psychiatry units are ambulatory units that are designed to promote recovery through socialization and milieu therapy, and thus, there exists an increased risk of person-to-person transmission.
Source: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Tags: Special Issue Article Source Type: research