Helping Shelter Island seniors in the face of COVID 19: Outreach stepped up during emergency response

The Island’s Senior Center, like the Library, Youth and Recreation centers, the FIT Center and school, has been closed as part of the town’s response to the coronavirus epidemic.

Although no one has been reported to have the virus on the Island yet, the emergency measures have been put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Health experts have warned that elderly persons, especially those with underlying medical conditions, are at highest risk.

Director of Senior Services Laurie Fanelli said she and her staff have made arrangements to transport senior citizens as needed, in order to get them to physicians’ appointments. “Some folks need to get to chemotherapy or radiation treatments,” she said, adding that some individuals can check with their doctors to see if treatments can be postponed for a while.

In setting up rides for seniors, she said they are “triaging,” with the same type of screening the hospital uses.

“Have you been traveling out of the state, out of the country, especially to China, Italy, Iran or Japan?” she said they ask. “Do you have a fever, cough or cold? Have you been on mass transit? Have you had contact with anyone who’s tested positive for the coronavirus?”

In addition to transporting seniors, Ms. Fanelli said her staff and volunteers are arranging to make pickups at the food store, pharmacy and post office. Deliveries can be left on porches. The service is not limited to seniors, but anyone who can’t get out to shop for themselves.

The staff is working regular hours at the Center to arrange the extra support needed at this time. Ms. Fanelli’s assistant, Sara Mundy, has posted on Facebook to recruit volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can call the Center at 631-749-1059 and leave a voicemail with available times to help out.

“It’s amazing to see the response in this difficult time,” Ms. Fanelli said.

Some of the programs the Senior Center already had in place, such as “Telephone Reassurance” — staying in touch via phone — are continuing and it is especially important to keep a line open to seniors living alone. The Center has a program called “Friendly Visitors” that paired volunteers with seniors, just to visit and offer company.

“We’ll ask the volunteers if they want to continue,” Ms. Fanelli said. “If they do, we’ll have to train them for screening.”

In addition to the homebound elderly, the Center provides services to a number of other senior Islanders. Similar adjustments are being made in those programs, as needed. “We had a woman come to yoga the other day who reported having a fever the day before,” said Ms. Fanelli. “Although her temperature was in the normal range currently, she was sent home.”

Some seniors who don’t need support services are having to modify their own behavior under current guidelines. Former Coucilwoman Christine Lewis reported: “I try to stay out of crowds, except for necessary trips to the drug store or to get food.”

 Ms. Lewis expressed frustration that the Island does not currently have a doctor, and no clear answer on when a medical office will be open here. A retired nurse, she said she tries to keep in touch with what seniors need and how they can be supported.

“The one good thing is that we have a low density of population,” she said, especially at this time of year. But the concern about not having healthcare on the Island is widely felt, she added. “We just don’t have anybody here,” while facing a serious health threat.

“We’re in uncharted territory,” Ms. Lewis added, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. “One hundred years ago, we would have been dealing with typhoid fever.”

Ms. Lewis said she was advised long ago that “every problem doesn’t have a solution. Sometimes you just have an outcome.”

While it may be frustrating to await wider testing and measures to mitigate the outbreak, individuals can best deal with the situation by practicing good hygiene and social distancing.

Ms. Fanelli said she had heard a commercial for Hackensack Hospital where they offered telehealth visits for $20. “That’s something I wish we had here,” she said.

Currently, Islanders can reach the Greenport Medical Center at 631-477-0070. Stony Brook Southampton, which will be opening a medical office on the Island, has advised Islanders they can also call a physicians’ practice in Sag Harbor at 631-725-2112.