This article first appeared over the summer on The Conversation website. Marc Cohen is co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. Jane Tavares is a research fellow at the center.
By Marc Cohen and Jane Tavares
For Americans 60 and older, COVID-19 is widespread and deadly. Its economic impact could also be devastating.
With a recession fast developing, much of the attention on the downturn focuses on working-age adults, but many older Americans – with less time to make up for financial losses – will suffer the most.
I am a clinical professor of gerontology. My co-author is a research fellow in gerontology. We believe that recent history, specifically the Great Recession of 2008-09, will demonstrate what’s at stake. Continue reading
This article 
This is the first in a series of stories about how people across the country are using the Elder Index to understand the true cost of living for older adults and its economic implications. If you know someone who would like to receive information about these stories, send us a note at 
AARP Foundation has awarded a grant to the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston for a two-year project to increase access to economic opportunities for older people of color in the greater Boston area.
Len Fishman: What would a composite profile of a consumer you serve look like?
Lisa Gurgone: The typical age is 82 and about one in five are 90 or older. About 55 percent live alone. We have a lot of women with basic homecare needs, someone to help with shopping and food prep. They may need some bathing assistance or have trouble getting dressed in the morning. People sometimes stay in our system for a very long time and may need additional services as they age. We might sub-contract with a visiting nurses association to provide more skilled care. It runs the gamut but the goal is to help these people stay in the community as long as they want. 
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically altered the ways education takes place at all levels and institutions, including the 
Relationships between senior children and their very old parents can be complicated enough. How does those relationships change when the parent is living with dementia?
William E. Reichman is a physician and chief executive of Baycrest, a leading non-profit elder care organization comprising health care and housing facilities, outpatient services and a research center on one campus in Toronto. His organization operates a 300-bed rehab hospital, a 472-bed skilled nursing facility, 200 assisted living units and 125 independent-living apartments. (Note: In characterizing the facilities, we have used terminology familiar to U.S. readers.)
Len Fishman: A recent Washington Post article reported that 81 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Canada are nursing home residents. How has Baycrest been affected?
William Reichman: Baycrest has had some sporadic cases of COVID-19, both in residents and patients, as well as staff members who likely brought the virus to the campus inadvertently. I think all told, we’ve had six cases among our 1,100 beds. There have been other senior care organizations in Canada which tragically have had 40 percent or more of their residents test positive for the virus and 25 percent or more actually die from infection. So it’s been catastrophic in Canada.