The Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona is now offering virtual community resources to help keep patients connected to others during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports KOLD News 13 . The institute offers monthly support groups at no charge to help people cope with dementia during the pandemic and stigmatized subjects surrounding dementia both online and over the phone. The next virtual support group is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 10 in the morning.

Although employee experience is playing an increasingly critical role in corporate performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent survey found only 31 percent of executives listed it as a high priority, reports the Harvard Business Review . Despite the importance of applying appropriate employee experience technology (EX) in realizing this, far more respondents said their organizations consider employee experience the responsibility of human resources or the C-suite than information technology. Yet most respondents agreed that said EX efforts have had the greatest impact on engagement and productivity, and many hope improvements in will raise productivity, employee retention, and collaboration. Ninety-three percent who said their companies prioritize employee experience believed their organizations are well-positioned for efficient remote work, while 94 percent consider their remote-work agility a competitive advantage. In a remote work situation, acquiring that advantage depends on technological factors that include ensuring workers have streamlined login and password protocols, high bandwidth, low latency, and inter-system and -format compatibility. Also needed is a robust corporate culture that can be facilitated by technology. One point of beginning is defining parameters, where employee experience ends and human-resources management starts.

A study in Diabetes Care has associated severe hypoglycemia with a markedly higher risk for falls among community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes, reports Medical Xpress . The investigators identified 1,162 study participants with diagnosed diabetes at the fourth visit, and learned that 149 ever had a severe hypoglycemic event either before baseline or during the average of 13.1 years of follow-up. The rate of falls among those lacking hypoglycemia was 2.17 per 100 person-years compared to 8.81 per 100 person-years for individuals with severe hypoglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia was tied to a greater risk for falls in an adjusted analysis, and findings showed consistency when examining subgroups by age, sex, race, body mass index, duration of diabetes, or functional difficulty. "Fall risk should be considered when individualizing glycemic treatment in older adults," the authors recommend. "Assessing hypoglycemia history and future hypoglycemia risk could also improve multifactorial fall prevention interventions for older adults with diabetes."

President Trump on Sunday signed an executive order that he claimed reduces prescription drug prices "by putting America first," but experts say the move is unlikely to have any immediate benefit, reports National Public Radio . The order repeals an earlier directive and expands the drugs covered by Trump's proposed "most favored nations" pricing scheme to include both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D. The notion is that Medicare would not pay more for drugs than the lower prices paid by other developed countries. The drug industry has roundly condemned this move. "The focus of any reforms must be on lowering costs for patients, ensuring patients' access to medicines, addressing the misaligned incentives in the pharmaceutical supply chain, and protecting the critical work being done to end COVID-19," said PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl. "Unfortunately, instead of pursuing these reforms the White House has doubled down on a reckless attack on the very companies working around the clock to beat COVID-19." Ubl further cited the order as "an irresponsible and unworkable policy that will give foreign governments a say in how America provides access to treatments and cures for seniors and people struggling with devastating diseases." Health policy consultant Ian Spatz suggested that Trump "may be frustrated that he didn't reach a deal with drugmakers, as his announced action is merely a demonstration and it is very hard to see how it could have any impact in the near future."

AutomotiveMastermind Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Rains writes in Forbes that company leaders must strive to improve employee engagement even during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. "Navigating and fostering positive relationships and momentum with employees, especially during times of uncertainty, requires clarity, communication, and coaching — three C's that you should work into every leadership strategy," he recommends. Prior to assembling an engaged workforce, leaders need a solid understanding of team members, with Rains noting that "connecting with your team on a human level is the highest form of authenticity." He stresses the need in trying times for leaders to keep workers in-the-loop as much as possible with clear, consistent communication that upholds transparency, attentiveness, positive energy, and humility. "With a newfound understanding of your team and a foundation of trust and strong communication in place, the opportunities for all employees — and in turn, your company — are endless," Rains explains. "Keeping this positive momentum going requires consistent coaching." Crucial to this is a leader taking the trouble to understand why each team member shows up for the company every day, as well as promote personal growth, celebrate small triumphs, and learn constantly.

The Brookridge Heights Assisted Living and Memory Care community in Marquette, Mich., is thanking local essential workers this week with a drive-thru luncheon, reports WJMN-TV. "This is National Assisted Living Week," explained Brookridge Heights Executive Director Jennifer Huetter. "Every year, they have a theme and this year is 'Caring is Essential' and our way of giving back to those who are caring for our residents as well for all of those in the community during COVID-19 is for us to do a heroes luncheon." Scheduled for Sept. 16, the luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. "All you have to do is call Brookridge," said Huetter. "Let us know how many people need that lunch and then just drive through our parking lot and we'll have a drive thru. It's our way to be able to say thank you to all those out there that are making a difference as a frontline hero here in our community for both the community itself, as well as those that are serving and helping us here with our residents at Brookridge Heights."

A Harris Poll survey on behalf of the Nationwide Retirement Institute found that 24 percent of U.S. baby boomers say the pandemic has forced them to postpone their planned retirement, reports Money . The official national unemployment rate stands at 11.1 percent, up from 3.7 percent at this time last year, and real gross domestic product plummeted at an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter. Fifteen percent of pre-retirees plan to take Social Security later than expected due to the pandemic, while 8 percent plan to claim their benefits earlier. Yet many Americans lack a basic understanding of Social Security, according to another Harris Poll survey conducted just before the pandemic. For example, nearly 33 percent of boomers and older respondents incorrectly believe that benefits claimed early will automatically appreciate when they reach full retirement age. The conviction that Social Security will run out of money also may spur boomers and older consumers to claim benefits earlier than they would otherwise, but Social Security will not go bankrupt. Ongoing payroll tax revenue ensures that the program will remain solvent even if the pandemic does some damage.

Some older Americans are planning to vote in person in the 2020 general election despite the COVID-19 pandemic amid fears of voter suppression, reports ABC News . With millions expected to vote by mail in an effort to avoid the virus or because they live in a state that already has all mail-in voting, a distressed Postal Service and unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud from mail-in balloting fueled by President Trump and his allies are causing concerns to mount. "The president knows he can't change the election, but he appears to be trying to sabotage it," says Nova Southeastern University Professor Jane Cross. Frances Laster, a 71-year-old civil rights advocate and small business owner in South Florida, said she is lobbying her community to either vote in person or hand-deliver absentee ballots if they can. "I vote because I want my voice heard and politics right now is so divided and sometimes the people in control don't work for your best interests," she says. Laster adds that attacks on absentee voting from the top echelons of government are confusing to older voters. "We have to fortify ourselves and be determined to get it right," she stresses.

The Concordium is a nonprofit videoconferencing platform founded by Harvard University students, whose goal is to eradicate the "loneliness epidemic" among U.S. seniors, reports the Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences . It matches older adults to younger adults based on shared experiences and interests, and offers a simple, Web-based framework to effect regular dialogues between participants. "We try to emphasize that this is not a platform where the young adults are there to save the older adults from social isolation, because loneliness does really occur in a u-shaped curve where younger adults and older adults are the ones who are most affected by it," said Harvard's Anagha Kumar. "It is a bi-directional relationship; both people receive a companion who they can talk to." Kumar developed the Concordium with fellow student Prasidh Chhabria, based on their observation that social isolation tends to be worse among older adults because they lack access to technology or other means to stay connected. The program taps young adult volunteers from colleges and high schools, with outreach activities assisted by councils on aging, senior centers, nursing communities, and physician referrals. "We believe that intergenerational solutions are the best way to combat the loneliness epidemic we are seeing right now," Kumar said. "Seeing others get very interested in forming relationships with older adults and learning more about the issues that the aging population faces on a daily basis has been really inspiring."

Emerging resources are helping older Americans distinguish authentic news from misinformation on social media, reports the New York Times . For example, the Poynter Institute's MediaWise for Seniors program offers free online courses to help seniors recognize and combat false online content, and program manager Katy Byron said "there was a desperate need to educate this older age group, not only because of the election but because of the coronavirus." In the 2016 general election over 70 percent of people older than 65 cast ballots, versus about 46 percent of those 18 to 29. Harvard University's Nadia Brashier said seniors "have an outsized effect on our democracy," making them high-priority targets of misinformation campaigns. She dismisses the idea that older people's participation in misinformation is related to age-related cognitive decline, and noted that "outside the social media environment, we often see that older adults are more discerning than younger ones." Byron laments a lack of action by technology companies to police online content for misleading material. Preliminary research shows that digital literacy programs can improve people's ability to tell mainstream news from fake news. Poynter's Alex Mahadevan said by the time they complete the MediaWise for Seniors course, participants will "be using the techniques used by fact-checkers across the world" to make these distinctions.